By Joe Murphy
The Hungarian Grand Prix never seemingly fails to deliver, with the 2024 edition living up to previous races from this venue.
Oscar Piastri became the latest man to win a race in Formula 1 and became the seventh different driver to win a Grand Prix this season, something we haven’t been able to say since the start of the hybrid era.
Oscar had got by his teammate into turn 1, needing to after finishing runner up the dya prior in qualifying. After Max Verstappen, who had a torrid race by his high standards, had jeopardised Norris and sent him back to fourth before eventually allowing him to claim second. As the McLaren’s raced away, it was Lando who was the beneficiary of a team strategy undercut. The problem then was that McLaren Bosses ordered Lando to give the place back. However, this was controversial with Norris being over half a dozen seconds clear of his Australian teammate.
Seemingly reluctant on the radio, Norris did eventually allow Oscar back into first to take his maiden win and has since claimed he was always going to do so.
This was the first McLaren one-two since Monza a few years back. The drama did not stop with the orange cars however. Lewis Hamilton saw off a feisty Max Verstappen to take his 200th podium. After battling for numerous laps, a well timed pit stop from both Hamilton and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, meant they jumped the current championship leader and reigning World Champion, much to the clear anger of Verstappen over team radio. He was never happy with his car and seemed adamant to vent his frustrations for all to hear. This frustration boiled over when Verstappen collided with Hamilton in what was a racing incident. This dropped Verstappen back to finish fifth, meaning not only did drivers close the gap in the standings, but Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors Championship shrinks ever more, with McLaren now the nearest mathematically.
Elsewhere, there was good recovery drives from Sergio Perez and George Russell with 7th and 8th respectively. This was especially important for the former who had another Saturday to forget missing out on Q2. Gasly endured more misery with yest another retirement and Sauber went another race pointless.
A week away from Spa, and all at Red Bull will be sitting slightly less comfortably again. The talking point though was undoubtedly McLaren’s strategy, meaning a meeting was necessary on Monday. Whether they should have switched places is up for debate. This will boil over the more competitive the team becomes. Just imagine if Norris loses the championship by less than 6 points then this could be an absolutely critical moment in the championship race.
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