Lando Norris claimed his fifth victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season with a measured and well-executed drive at the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading home teammate Oscar Piastri in a McLaren one-two.
It was a historic result for the team, marking McLaren’s 200th Grand Prix win and their fourth consecutive 1–2 finish, something they haven’t achieved since 1988 during the Senna-Prost era.
The race was shaped by diverging strategies, with Norris making a one-stop work to perfection while others, including pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, faded in the final stint.
Leclerc had looked in control early on, converting pole into the race lead and managing the gap over Piastri and George Russell in the opening laps.
A mid-race pit stop cycle saw him narrowly stay ahead of Piastri, but McLaren’s strategy to extend Norris’s first stint paid off.
By the time the final stops had shaken out, Norris had jumped both cars ahead and assumed control of the race.
Leclerc’s pace began to fade as the race entered its final stages, and both McLarens and Russell ultimately passed him.
“Today we have this problem and we need to look at it to never ever happen again because the car was just undrivable,” Leclerc told Sky Sports after the race, revealing a chassis issue had compromised his final stint.
“It was very frustrating to have everything under control, to know that the pace is in the car to win, and then you end up being nowhere,” he added.
“So we even lost the podium, so very disappointing.”
Leclerc was also involved in a tense scrap with Russell late in the race, defending hard into Turn 1 and coming under scrutiny for moving under braking.
The Mercedes driver was furious over the team radio.
“That was moving under braking! I committed, and he moved while braking. Almost crashed into the back of him. It’s clearly not allowed.”
Russell said, before eventually making the move stick a lap later. The stewards noted the incident, and it went under post-race investigation, but Leclerc was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Piastri once again showed strong race pace and remained close to Norris throughout the second half.
Having earlier attempted an undercut on Leclerc, McLaren opted to leave the Australian out longer for an overcut that also fell short, meaning he had to pass Leclerc on track.
He eventually made the move, but by then Norris had the advantage.
“Going into the race, we thought a two-stop was the best thing to do,” Piastri explained.
“In clean air, potentially it still was, but… having a two-stop race in clean air versus dirty air is a different story.
“So yeah, some things to analyse with the team, but overall I thought it was a good day.”
Piastri came within a second of Norris in the closing laps and made one bold lunge into Turn 1, prompting a warning from the McLaren pit wall, but couldn’t find a way through.
“I felt like that was going to be my best chance, so I thought I would at least try, but not quite.”
Liam Lawson continued his strong run of form with an eighth-place finish, his third top-ten result in four races and another composed, points-scoring drive for Racing Bulls.
Starting ninth, Lawson held his ground in the opening laps and ran a long first stint on a one-stop strategy. He ultimately finished ahead of all four Red Bull-backed drivers, including Max Verstappen, who ended up ninth after being held off by Lawson for over 15 laps.
“I’m very happy with today’s result,” Lawson said.
“It was a tough race, and trying to find a window for boxing was tricky with all the traffic. The speed was really good as well as the degradation on the tyres, so everything was well executed by the team.
“It’s never easy keeping a driver like Max behind you, but our strategy meant that we could keep position until the end.
“It’s obviously great to have more consistency over the most recent races, but the key thing is for us to keep the momentum going following the much-deserved summer break.”
Lawson has now scored points in every race he’s qualified inside the top ten this season. Going into the summer break, the Kiwi is now just two points off Hadjar in the Driver Standings.
“A very strong race from Liam, both the car and the one-stop strategy worked very well; he made the tyres last well and brings home another 8th place,” Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane said.
Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton found themselves in close quarters once again, with the Dutchman forcing his way past the Ferrari driver at Turn 4 during the middle stint. The move, which saw Hamilton run wide, was looked at by the stewards after the race.
For Hamilton, it was another difficult weekend. After a disappointing qualifying that saw him eliminated in Q2, the seven-time world champion finished 12th and left the Hungaroring without points for just the second time in 19 starts.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton made headlines again with his frank assessment of his current form.
“When you have a feeling, you have a feeling,” he said when asked if he still stood by his earlier remark that Ferrari “probably needs to change driver.”
“There’s a lot going on in the background that is not great. So yeah.”
When asked if he still enjoyed racing, Hamilton replied: “I still love the team.”
In a separate interview with F1TV, he added: “I’m glad it’s over. I’m looking forward to going away.”
Elsewhere, Gabriel Bortoleto produced his best performance yet in Formula 1, bringing his Sauber home in sixth after running solidly in the top ten all race. The Brazilian rookie continues to impress in the latter stages of his debut season.
In the Aston Martin camp, Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Lance Stroll came home seventh, while Kimi Antonelli rounded out the points in tenth. Isack Hadjar narrowly missed out, finishing 11th.
Oliver Bearman was the race’s only retirement. The Haas driver reported a broken car mid-race and was told over team radio that he had significant rear damage before being called into the pits to retire.
Header Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
