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After a thrilling Qualifying on Saturday in which Charles Leclerc took pole by surprise, the action continued at the Hungaroring for Grand Prix Sunday. Budapest did not fail to deliver, as strategic masterclasses and disasterclasses, tire offsets, and tight podium battles defined 70 laps of racing. In the end, it was yet another McLaren one-two, as Lando Norris crossed the finish line a hair ahead of his teammate, Oscar Piastri. George Russell came in third to round off the podium after the Ferrari of Leclerc faded in the later half of the race.
Pre-race
The weather was a question mark, with a 20% chance of rain throughout the race and the coolest temperatures seen all weekend. This meant that teams did not have a clear picture of how tire degradation would pan out across the race, throwing a wrench into things.
Yuki Tsunoda started the race from the pitlane after taking a series of new power unit components. Despite keeping close to his teammate, Max Verstappen, for the entirety of the weekend, Tsunoda was unable to advance past Q1 of qualifying,
Race start
When Leclerc got a clean getaway to maintain the lead. Meanwhile, Lando Norris looked to make a move on Piastri, which did not pan out. Norris fell two spots down to fifth, with Russell and Fernando Alonso getting ahead of him after the two turns.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton’s misfortunes from a tough Qualifying continued, as he dropped another two spots down to 14th on the start. He did fare better than Nico Hulkenberg, however, who was also flagged for a false start, and had to serve a five second penalty.
Race
Known as Monaco without walls, Hungary’s thin, twisty track proved to be a hazard in many ways. Early in the race, Oliver Bearman dipped his wheels into gravel. While he was largely unaffected, the debris he kicked up flew into the car of Isack Hadjar, right behind him, injuring his hand.
As the race progressed, the top four of Leclerc, Piastri, Russell and Norris made a substantial gap between them and the rest of the field, led by Alonso.
On lap 19, the leaders started coming into the pit, with Piastri being told to box to overtake Leclerc. Leclerc reacted immediately, and Ferrari pulled off a rapid 2.0s pitstop to help him stay ahead of the McLaren coming out of the pit exit.
Strategic calls continued to go back and forth on the McLaren pit wall, with Norris’s team eventually deciding to go for a one-stopper. He went in on the 31st lap, 11 laps later than Leclerc, and ready to light up the track. He came out behind Russell, in fourth overall, and started setting consecutive fastest laps.
Piastri’s team made a dummy call on the radio to box for an undercut on Leclerc, one which Ferrari fell for. Leclerc dove into the pit for fresh rubber, coming out behind Norris. A few laps later, Piastri did come through the pit. The tire offset helped him out; on the 51st lap, he overtook Leclerc and began chasing down Norris.
Meanwhile, the Ferrari’s pace plummeted, with Leclerc expressing frustration in an impassioned rant to his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi. As the laps ticked down, the gap between him and George Russell melted, and it wasn’t long before the two were scrapping on the track for the last spot on the podium.
Alas for the man who started on pole, the speed was just not there in the Ferrari any more, and Russell overtook Leclerc on lap 62. It wasn’t a clean getaway; Leclerc fought back hard and the two cars touched. The move cost Leclerc not just the position, but also a five second penalty for erratic driving.
Checkered flag
At the front, Piastri caught up to Norris, and a fight for the lead unfolded across the last three laps. It looked incredibly close, with Piastri making several strong moves, but a lock-up for the Australian on the penultimate lap sealed the deal. It was Lando Norris who got over the finish line first, with Piastri in second, and Russell completing the podium.
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