Controversy filled the airwaves at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday as Oscar Piastri celebrated his first Formula 1 victory, while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris exchanged words with their race engineers.
After getting their first front-row lock in 12 years, McLarens finished first and second for the first time since the 2021 Italy Grand Prix.
But it was Piastri, and not polesitter Norris, who took the checkered flag at a sun-drenched Hungaroring after his team-mate was ordered to abandon his position.
Second on the grid, Piastri took the lead at the first corner and led most of the race with Norris by his side until the final lap of pit stops, when McLaren decided to pit in front of each other on lap 45 to protect itself. Lewis Hamilton in third place.
Piastri stayed out for two more laps and found himself to be his teammate when he returned to the track.
For the next 17 laps, Norris continually resisted orders to back off the position, even completely forgetting about his race engineer Will Joseph.
“Radio check,” Joseph said over the team radio at one point to make sure Norris was getting the messages.
“Loud and clear,” the 24-year-old responded, but he refused the orders and asked his engineer to “tell Piastri to catch up. “
With 12 rounds left of the remaining 70, Joseph came back on the radio almost pleading with Norris.
“I know they’ll do the right thing. Don’t meet every Sunday morning,” he said, referring to the pre-race meeting, where such scenarios are discussed.
With five laps left, Joseph returns to the radio to remind Norris that Formula 1, after all, is a team sport.
“The way to win a championship is not through yourself, it is with the team, loving Oscar and loving the team,” he stated.
Two laps later, Norris nevertheless let Piastri pass. The Briton was a little more magnanimous after the race, admitting he didn’t deserve to win after wasting his position at the start.
“I didn’t deserve to win the race,” Norris said. It’s as undeniable as that. The fact that he is in that position is incorrect.
“If Oscar led the entire race, it’s not fair, and I don’t think it’s like that, that he let me pass so I can win because I’m fighting for a championship.
“I didn’t give up the victory. I lost it from the beginning. “
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – JULY 21: Great Britain’s Lando Norris and second place McLaren celebrate onArray. [+] the podium of the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring on July 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo via Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
While Piastri deserved to win the race, McLaren made the curious decision to order Norris to resign from his position. After all, the latter remains Verstappen’s closest rival and closed the gap to the three-time world champion to 76 points by completing the moment in Hungary.
And Norris admitted he was reluctant to let Piastri through because of the implications it would have for his fight for his name.
“It will occur to you,” he said. Sometimes you have to be egocentric in this sport. That’s priority number one: thinking about yourself.
“I know a lot of people will say that the gap between me and Max is quite big, but if Red Bull and Max make the mistakes they made today and we continue to do that and have weekends like that, we can turn things around. ” “
In fact, Red Bull and Verstappen made mistakes, prompting a series of angry outbursts from the Dutchman.
Verstappen started third and went wide at the first corner, before rejoining the track ahead of Norris and being asked to give up his position to avoid an imaginable penalty.
With McLarens quicker than his Red Bull, Verstappen became increasingly frustrated, a situation that was further exacerbated by what he saw as strategy errors as he twice knocked Hamilton down behind the grandstands.
“Don’t come at me with that,” he replied to his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who had warned him to attack too early with fresh tyres.
“You gave me this damn strategy, okay? I must save what remains. ****”.
Verstappen’s anger nevertheless overflowed when he collided with Hamilton in the closing stages of the race, while looking to regain third place.
The Dutchman got stuck in the first corner and hit the left wheel of the Mercedes, sending his Red Bull into the starting area.
Verstappen recovered to finish fifth with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but hit back and deserved an apology for his driving.
“I don’t think we want to apologize. We just want to do a better job,” he said.
“I don’t know why other people think you can’t speak explicitly on the radio. It’s a sport. If other people don’t like it, stay home.
“Maybe the team didn’t realise what they did or didn’t see that it was so bad, but in the car you can feel other feelings as well.
Next week’s Belgium Grand Prix is the last race on the calendar before Formula 1’s classic month-long summer break and if Sunday’s occasions are anything to be overlooked, some drivers may simply be enjoying a break.
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