Oscar Piastri has become Australia’s fifth Formula 1 race winner and claims his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary.
But it didn’t happen without huge drama, as his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris threatened to take the race victory away from him after a strategic decision in his favor, only relinquishing the lead in the closing laps of the race.
A subdued Piastri barely celebrated the win on radio as his emotions were seemingly dampened by the situation and he apologized for his role in making the move so difficult.
“The team asked me to do it, so I did it,” Norris said after the race, but declined to elaborate.
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The 23-year-old Melburnian won a sprint race in his rookie season with McLaren, but had never been the first to take the checkered flag in a full race.
“Obviously a bit complicated at the end,” Piastri said.
“The longer you leave it, the more nervous you become, but it was well executed by the team.
“It was the right thing, I put myself in the right position at the start… yes, my pace wasn’t as fast as I would have liked in the last stint, but I was still in the right position to make it happen .”
Piastri joins compatriots Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo as F1 victors, becoming the championship’s 115th all-time different race winner.
Both Webber, Piastri’s manager, and Ricciardo also won races in Hungary early in their careers.
At the Hungaroring, Piastri qualified second, just two hundredths behind Norris.
But the Aussie took the lead at the opening corner, going three wide with Norris and Max Verstappen and getting the better run on the inside as Norris desperately tried to avoid his teammate, sending the championship leader wide before returning to the track in second. .
Verstappen was then told to give the place back, allowing Norris to regain second place and giving Piastri a healthy lead at the front.
During the race’s second stint on hard tires, Norris closed the gap to just over a second, while Piastri lost time by running wide in the tricky middle section and left with dirty tires, losing his healthy lead.
Norris was told he was okay to race Piastri, and was then given the opportunity to undercut his teammate by pitting two laps earlier in the third stint, in an attempt to cover the chasing pack.
McLaren promised they would manage the situation and urged Piastri not to worry about Norris if he finished in second place again.
McLaren told Norris on lap 49 of 70 that they wanted to “restore the order (with Piastri first) at your leisure,” and analyst Anthony Davidson suggested on commentary that Piastri needed to close the gap quickly to ensure that Norris – who was second is in the championship – couldn’t pull off a power play and opted to hold the lead in the race.
Piastri’s engineer insisted that the pair switch positions “as soon as you get to Lando”, but they did not want “Lando to give up a lot of race time”.
When Norris was told on lap 56 to manage his tires and ultimately give the place back to Piastri, he replied: “Then you should have packed him first, shouldn’t you?
Told by his engineer “that doesn’t matter,” Norris replied, “It does to me.”
Norris was later told: “I know you will do the right thing”.
But amid continued complaints to Norris that he was using his tires too aggressively, the Briton continued to increase his lead and showed no signs of slowing down.
“Just think of every Sunday morning meeting we have,” Norris’ engineer told him, a reminder of the emotional damage he would do if he won the race.
“Yes, well, please tell him to catch up,” Norris replied.
A few laps later, Norris was told “you’ve proven your point” and “we’ve executed this stop order for the team”, his engineer warned the Briton “I’m trying to protect you”.
Norris claimed he was the faster driver and claimed he would have taken the lead on the track anyway if he had stopped after Piastri.
“The way to win a championship is with the team. You’re going to need Oscar,” Norris was told, while Martin Brundle commented saying the dispute was “extraordinary”.
Norris eventually slowed down the straight going into the 68th lap of 70 and allowed Piastri to take the lead.
Sky Sports F1 analyst Ted Kravitz hailed Piastri as a marked improvement behind the wheel amid the hot conditions that saw drivers rip through their tire distribution.
“His tire management is just perfect,” Kravitz said halfway through the race.
“And that’s something that has bothered him in the last few races. He’s been very honest with himself and with everyone else, it’s something he’s focused on.”
Piastri’s victory moves Australia to seventh all-time with 44 wins, ahead of Italy (43), behind only Great Britain, Germany, Brazil, France, the Netherlands and Finland.
He moved from the Alpine team in mid-2022, where he was an Academy product they hoped to promote to a racing seat, following a contract dispute.
He and his manager Webber instead managed a move to McLaren, replacing Daniel Ricciardo, for whom he has now achieved five podium finishes.
Piastri is the seventh different winner of the season, the most in a single F1 campaign since 2012.
