Oscar Piastri clinched his maiden Grand Prix victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, a race defined by strategic pitstops rather than on-track overtaking. Both McLarens secured the front row in qualifying, Norris on pole and teammate Pisatri second. On race day it was Piastri led on the opening lap in the runup to the first corner after outlaunching Norris at start from second on the grid.
Lando Norris became distracted as he tried in vain to squeeze Piastri but this tactic backfired. This opened up up a three way battle for the lead between Piastri, Norris, and Max Verstappen into Turn 1. Verstappen, on the outside, was forced wide into the run-off area but he managed to rejoin the track in second place.
However, the stewards ruled that Verstappen gained an advantage, prompting him to relinquish the position on lap 4. By now Piastri had built up a near two-second lead which he extended to 4 seconds over his teammate.
During the first pitstop window, the race evolved into a strategic pit-stop duel. By lap 48, Norris had taken the lead following an earlier pitstop ahead of race leader Piastri. This maneuver was intended to position Norris ahead of Lewis Hamilton, an odd decision considering the McLarens’ superior pace.
However a pre-race team agreement mandated that Norris give the lead back to Piastri. Initially, Norris resisted, building a 6-second gap to his teammate. However, persistent radio communications from the pitwall eventually pressured Norris to comply with the team orders, handing the lead back to Piastri with three laps remaining.
It was an ignominious way for Piastri to claim his maiden victory but team orders won the day to ensure McLaren scored their first 1-2 in over three years.
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix: Race Results
1 Oscar PIASTRI 1:38:01.989 70 laps
2 Lando NORRIS +2.141
3 Lewis HAMILTON +14.880
4 Charles LECLERC +19.686
5 Max VERSTAPPEN +21.349
6 Carlos SAINZ +23.073
7 Sergio PEREZ +39.792
8 George RUSSELL +42.368
9 Yuki TSUNODA +77.259
10 Lance STROLL +77.976
11 Fernando ALONSO +82.460
12 Daniel RICCIARDO +1 lap
13 Nico HULKENBERG +1 lap
14 Alexander ALBON +1 lap
15 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +1 lap
16 Valtteri BOTTAS +1 lap
17 Logan SARGEANT +1 lap
18 Esteban OCON +1 lap
19 Guanyu ZHOU +1 lap
Did not finish
Pierre Gasly Alpine lap 36 – hydraulic leak
