Piastri wins first F1 race after Norris obeys team orders in 1-2 for McLaren at Hungarian GP

BUDAPEST — Australian driver Oscar Piastri won his first Formula One race after teammate Lando Norris handed him back the lead to complete a McLaren one-two at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

That outstanding result came after a long and at times awkward back-and-forth between the British team and its top driver before Norris finally obeyed orders to let Piastri back in front.

Piastri started second behind pole-sitting Norris and beat him to the first turn. Norris then got ahead after a pit-stop strategy that favored him despite being behind his teammate, but he eventually listed to team orders and let Piastri take the victory.

“This is the day I dreamed of as a kid, standing on the top step of the podium,” the 23-year-old Piastri said. “A bit complicated at the end, but I put myself in a good position off the start.

“I had a lot of trust in Lando, and I think it was a fair decision to swap us back at the end.”

Lewis Hamilton finished third behind the papaya-colored pair for his record-extending 200th career podium.

Points leader Max Verstappen finished fifth behind Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari and has now gone three races without a victory. Verstappen still leads the standings with 265 points to Norris’ 189 but the Dutchman has seen Red Bull’s speed advantage evaporate this summer.

Radio drama

McLaren’s huge victory will also be remembered for the team debate over which driver would finally come out on top.

At first, the team told Piastri that the pit strategy was to ensure Norris could keep Hamilton at bay, while asking Norris to give the place back “at his convenience.”

As the laps ticked by and Norris didn’t budge, McLaren told Piastri that he could get back in front when he caught up with Norris. Finally, the team turned to pleading with Norris just to let Piastri by.

“I know you will do the right thing,” the team told Norris. After a long silence, Norris replied “tell him to catch up then please.”

The tension was building until Norris eased up and allowed Piastri past with two laps to go.

Piastri and Norris exchanged a brief handshake while taking off their helmets and after both were congratulated by McLaren staff and other drivers.

“I don’t know any driver who when leading the race is happy to swap back, that’s not the nature of drivers,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said. “That’s why we have to recall our principles … in these battles, Lando will need the support of Oscar and the support of the team.”

Lando had no harsh words before stepping onto the second spot on the winners podium, even though he had come so close to adding to his maiden F1 win in Miami in May — and to chipping further into Verstappen’s advantage in the standings.

“An amazing day as a team, that is the main thing. I am so happy. It has been a long journey to achieve this on merit,” Norris said after his 12th career runner-up finish. “Oscar had a good start. (His win) was coming at some point, and he deserved it today.”

When asked directly about the decision to cede his lead, Norris said curtly: “The team asked me to do it so I did it, that’s it.”

Piastri, for his part, took a long breath when asked how he spent the 20-laps trailing Norris before admitting it was an anxious spell.

“The longer you leave it, the more you get a bit nervous, but yeah, I think it was the right thing,” he said.

Piastri became the seventh different winner in 13 races this season that started looking like another cruise for the three-time defending champion Verstappen but has now turned into a fight. Red Bull saw its lead in the constructors championship reduced to 389-338 over McLaren, after Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez continued to struggle and finished seventh.

Piastri was a champion in F3 and F2 before he made the jump to the motorsport’s elite competition last season with McLaren. It was the Melbourne native’s first victory in 35 F1 races. He finished runner-up twice recently, in Monaco and Austria. His previous biggest F1 achievement was winning the sprint race at Qatar in 2023.

Born in April 2001, Piastri became the first F1 winner born in this century.

Verstappen vs. Hamilton

While McLaren was unchallenged on the track, Hamilton and Verstappen delivered the most exciting driving at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton had already held off Verstappen during a long stretch before the Dutchman tried again to pass him on the final laps with third place at stake.

But as Verstappen lunged past Hamilton on the inside of a right-hand corner, he locked his front wheels and his back clipped Hamilton’s Mercedes, sending the Red Bull’s rear airborne before veering off the track. Verstappen got back into the race but had lost a place to Leclerc in the process.

“The close battle we had at the end was a bit hair-raising, but that is racing,” Hamilton said.

Carlos Sainz was sixth in the other Ferrari. Mercedes’ George Russell was eighth, behind Pérez. Yuki Tsunoda of RB and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll closed out the points positions.

The Hungarian GP marks the start of the second half of the season. Next up is the Belgian GP on July 28.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing