McLaren has dismissed claims that they set Oscar Piastri up for failure in the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, where teammate Lando Norris triumphed with an unexpected one-stop strategy. Piastri started strong on the front row but fell short of victory due to the differing pit strategies adopted by the teammates; Piastri opted for a two-stop plan while Norris pulled off a successful one-stop strategy.
Despite a shaky beginning where Norris dropped to fifth, he quickly regained momentum and decided to maintain his position by stretching his tyre life for a longer final stint. Piastri, attempting to undercut Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during his first pit stop, didn’t achieve the desired outcome. As others pitted, Norris took the lead, making his medium tyres last impressively until lap 32 before switching to hards.
As the race progressed, Piastri’s fresher tyres allowed him to close the gap to Norris, rejoining the race with 12 seconds to make up on his teammate, who was then leading the race. Though Piastri made several attempts to overtake in the closing laps, he couldn’t find a way past Norris, reflecting on the challenges of passing on the difficult Hungarian circuit.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella clarified that they had initially not considered a one-stop strategy for Norris and were focused on the two-stop approach for Piastri, aiming to give him an advantage against Leclerc. Despite Norris’s strong performance, the team did not anticipate that the one-stop strategy could work until Norris’s impressive lap times shifted their perspective during the race.
After the race, Norris admitted he had low expectations early on and was hoping for a safety car to help him regain competitive positioning. However, the absence of a safety car led to a tense battle between the two teammates, with Norris eventually holding off Piastri to claim victory.
As a result, Norris cut Piastri’s lead in the drivers’ championship to just nine points. Both drivers have been allowed to race freely this season, with McLaren’s management emphasising that fairness is crucial, even at the cost of the championship. With ten races remaining, the competition remains tight as F1 heads into the mid-season break before resuming with the Dutch Grand Prix.