F1: 5 Things We Learned From The Hungarian Grand Prix

Lando Norris snatched victory away from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix after pulling off a one-stop strategy.

The Hungarian Grand Prix saw the two title challengers go head-to-head as Lando Norris reduced the points deficit to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ standings.

In a remarkable weekend that saw favourites McLaren falter during Saturday’s qualifying grab pole position, the Woking-based team finished one-two ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell. The Englishman passed a deflated Charles Leclerc, who had put his Ferrari on pole position.

Other notable performances included Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Former world champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finished ninth and 12th. The pair were called into the stewards’ office after the race because of a Turn 4 incident that saw the Red Bull driver controversially pass Hamilton.

Let’s take a look at five things we learned from the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

5 – More points for rookies

Rookies Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto scored points for the second race in a row, as the duo outperformed their teammates Isack Hajdar and Nico Hulkenberg.

Sauber’s Bortoleto secured his best-ever finish in F1 and was voted Driver of the Day. The Swiss team is seventh in the championship and will be keen to add more points after the summer break.

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4 – Red Bull’s gamble didn’t pay off

Aside from the off-track drama involving former team boss Christian Horner’s exit midway through the season, Max Verstappen has been in a slump recently. The four-time world champion hasn’t been on the podium since the Canadian GP in June.

In Hungary, Max was among the first drivers to pit in the race as the team tried to undercut the cars ahead of him. The Dutch driver took on the hard compound and rejoined in P16.

At one stage, Verstappen moved up to fifth after the cars ahead of him pitted. However, it was the resilient and faster Alonso, Bortoleto, and Lawson that Verstappen couldn’t get past. Verstappen’s race engineer said the team considered a one-stop strategy for the afternoon, but Verstappen’s hard tyres were degraded, and he pitted again before returning to the track in P9.

Max was left with just two points at the end of a tough and frustrating weekend, Red Bull said.

3 – Hamilton labels himself ‘useless’ after qualifying

The seven-time world champion shocked the press and F1 fans on Saturday after qualifying, expressing his disappointment by saying “I’m useless, absolutely useless”, and stating Ferrari should ‘look for another driver.

It’s a worrying time for Hamilton, who hasn’t stood on the podium for Ferrari this season in a Grand Prix. His only win in 2025 was the Chinese Sprint race back in March. Hamilton started the weekend in Budapest as an eight-time winner of the Hungarian GP, but finished outside the points in 12th position. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur rallied behind his new driver, but it’s clear Hamilton is battling with some demons and needs a turnaround in form soon.

2 – Leclerc’s disastrous final stint

Charles Leclerc surprised many in the paddock on Saturday by qualifying on pole. The Monegasque driver managed his lead well from Piastri in the first stint, although the gap was reduced after the first round of stops that Ferrari nailed perfectly with a stationary time of two seconds.

After Leclerc made his second stop, a strange issue formed in the chassis that the team has not explained. The chassis issue cost Leclerc two seconds per lap, and he was overtaken on lap 50 by Piastri. Then, with eight laps remaining, he lost the final podium spot to George Russell.

Team boss Fred Vasseur spoke after the race and said: “I must say that the situation was quite strange, that we were under control the first 40 laps of the race, that we were very in control the first stint, a bit more difficult the second one, but it was still manageable.

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1 – Norris nails one-stop strategy

Norris had the worst possible start, dropping down to fifth from third. The British driver overtook Fernando Alonso on lap three and then pitted for hard tyres on lap 31, aiming to go to the end of the race.

The 25-year-old managed his medium tyres supremely well in the first stint and followed it up when he switched to the hards. Norris’s race engineer, Will Joseph, offered a one-stop strategy, and Norris rolled the dice to maintain track position, a vital factor at the Hungaroring.

With Oscar Piastri closing in on him, Norris maintained his composure and was let off the hook by one or two errors by the Australian in the closing laps. The British driver scored McLaren’s 200th F1 win and said after the race: “We weren’t planning on the one-stop at the beginning, but after the first lap, it was the only option to challenge the cars around us.

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