McLaren came into the Hungarian GP as the form team on the grid. Before arriving in Budapest, the Papaya team had secured three one-two finishes in a row. However, after qualifying, it was the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who secured pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris in third.
With the Hungaroring notoriously difficult to overtake at, Piastri couldn’t pass Leclerc off the line. This meant the Australian would have to use strategy to take the lead in the race. Piastri attempted the undercut and committed to a two-stop strategy. But did McLaren call the championship leader in too early?
Did Oscar Piastri’s strategy hand Lando Norris the win?
Oscar Piastri remained behind Charles Leclerc after the lights went out. The Aussie was unable to make any inroads into the Monogasque’s lead. So Piastri dropped back to around three seconds to save his tyre life. However, McLaren decided to attempt to trigger an undercut to get their man ahead of the Ferrari driver.
On lap 19, Piastri boxed for fresh tyres in an attempt to pass Leclerc. However, the 24-year-old was only 2.5 seconds behind Charles. Ferrari responded by bringing in the race leader a lap later, and Leclerc was able to hold the lead.
On Piastri’s out lap, it took him time to fire up his tyres to the heat required, giving Ferrari a lap to respond. This call left Piastri with the job of passing Leclerc on track, and committed him to a suboptimal two-stop strategy. However, with not much to lose, Lando Norris, who is in fourth place, decided to stop only once. This strategy handed the Brit the lead of the race and helped him win.
After losing out to Norris, Piastri told F1TV: “I pushed as hard as I could. You know, I think after I saw Lando going for a one-stop, I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is much easier said than done around here. So, yeah, tried a few things – it was a gamble either way, and today, unfortunately, we were just on the wrong side of it.”
McLaren’s strategy for Piastri cost him the win. The two-stop strategy was the wrong way to go with overtaking difficult around the Hungaroring. They also needed Piastri around a second closer to undercut Leclerc. The result means Norris has closed to within nine points of Piastri going into the summer break.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to resume battle after the summer break
Following the summer break, ten races remain to decide who will take the crown of world champion. The title is now fully between the two McLaren drivers, with third-placed Max Verstappen nearly one hundred points behind Oscar Piastri.
So far, the racing between the McLaren teammates has been respectful and remained within the ‘papaya rules’. These rules allow their drivers to race hard, but to make sure there is no contact. However, the two come to blows in Canada when Norris hit Piastri on the pit straight. Piastri also locked his tyres when trying to pass Norris in Austria and Hungary.
DRIVER STANDINGS (AFTER 14/24 ROUNDS)
Oscar Piastri takes a nine-point lead into the summer break#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/d5cvq76xzy
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2025
With McLaren looking to have sewn up the constructors’ championship, the drivers might take a few more risks with the title on the line. The inter-team battle has so far been friendly, but as we tick off the races, the motivation to win will take over. With only nine points separating the two, there are many more twists and turns to come.
