McLaren blown away by changing wind as Leclerc lands pole for Ferrari
"I think the wind changed a lot," said Piastri, who qualified second on the grid for Sunday's race.
"It always sounds so pathetic, blaming things on the wind, but the wind basically did a 180 from Q1 to Q3, so it just meant a lot of the corners felt completely different.
"My first lap in Q3 felt pretty terrible because I wasn't used to it and then I thought the second lap was better - but it was even slower.
"It's so difficult to judge in those conditions -- and maybe not the best execution. I was a bit surprised that we couldn't go quicker than that. Second is still a decent spot to start. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Norris, who is 16 points behind Piastri in the championship standings after 13 of this year's 24 races, said he felt the McLaren drivers had been too cautious in the changing conditions.
'Risked a bit'
"I think Charles did a good job on the last lap and he probably risked a bit more in these conditions," said the British driver.
"The wind changed a lot and it really seemed to punish us in a bigger way it seems.
"I mean not too many complaints. It seems we both thought we did some good laps at the end and we were just slow, nothing to complain of. It's a long lap with many corners and so it's tricky.
"In Q2, we showed how quick we can go and our advantage, but as soon as the wind changed everything went away and the last sector became even trickier."
He added that he still held hopes for a good result to make inroads on Piastri's advantage in the title race.
"I want to go forwards and I want to win," said Norris.
"If I do that then I get points. I think it's going to be an exciting race and I would expect us to have a bit more pace than Charles so I'm looking forward to it."
With just 0.543 seconds separating Leclerc from 10th placed rookie Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, Saturday's qualifying was one of the closest sessions in Formula One history, bringing Leclerc his first pole in Hungary, his and Ferrari's first of the season and the 27th of his career.
He will start Sunday's race with Piastri second and Norris third, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell – the top four were separated by just 0.053 seconds – and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto seventh ahead of Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen and the two Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
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Despondent Hamilton and Ferrari crash back to earth
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who on Saturday said he was "completely useless" to the team and ready to be replaced, wound up 12th while Leclerc dropped from race leader to a grumbling fourth. Hamilton, backed beforehand by team boss Fred Vasseur, was in a bleak mood suggesting that he remained trapped by a crisis of confidence that has turned his spectacular marquee signing for Ferrari into a nightmare. "When you have a feeling, you have a feeling," he said enigmatically, responding to a question about his comment suggesting that he was no longer good enough for Ferrari and should be replaced. He added: "There's a lot going on in the background that isn't great." Asked if he still loved racing, he replied to say he did, but with little conviction. Leclerc appeared to be little happier after he had failed to convert pole into victory for the 15th time in 16 attempts during the last three years. His one success came in last year's Monaco Grand Prix, his home event. "We lost a podium, so I am very disappointed," said Leclerc, having warned the team during the race that they had bungled his car's set-up in some unspecified way. "But I spoke too quickly because being out of the car, I had a bit more detail about what went on," he added later. "I thought it was about something else that we had discussed, but unfortunately it was on the chassis. "There was an issue on that side and we will look into it for it not to happen again. It doesn't really make me feel any better because when you're fighting for a win, and then you have these kind of issues, it never happens. "We need to look into it to make sure it never happens again because the car was just undriveable. "It was around lap 40 because as soon as I started to struggle and to complain, it was basically when we started to have the issue and it got worse and worse. "It's very frustrating to have everything under control, to know that the pace is in the car to win, and then you end up being nowhere. We lost a podium.' Hamilton, 40, winner of a record eight Hungarian Grands Prix and a record nine poles at the circuit, finished where he started and with his worst result at the circuit, inevitably sparking talk of his possible retirement. But as he headed off towards a summer break, he could look at the joy in the Aston Martin garage where, despite a back muscle injury, his one-time McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso had finished a season's best fifth, aged 44.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Norris relishing combat with McLaren teammate Piastri
The 25-year-old Briton, who trimmed Piastri's lead in the tile race to nine points, finished the race just 0.698 seconds ahead as they crossed the line to secure the team's 200th victory in Formula One and record 13th in Hungary. "I'm dead!" said Norris, who had switched to a one-stop strategy after a poor opening lap and then battled to resist Piastri's attacks in the closing laps. "It was tough, we weren't really planning on a one-stop at the beginning, but after the first lap it was kind of our only option to get back into things. "It was tough in the final stint, with Oscar catching. I was pushing flat out, you know, so my voice has gone a little bit!" Piastri stayed with his two-stop strategy and had a tyre advantage, but on the tight and technical Hungaroring track found it impossible to pass his team-mate. "I didn't think it would probably get us to win. I thought it would get us into second, but I knew if I had some clean air, and I could push, I could maybe make things work and that's what we did. "It's always a bit of a gamble with these things, but it also requires no mistakes, good laps, good strategy -- all these things -- and that's what we had today so I'm very happy." He said his win, which moved him within reach of overhauling Piastri when the season resumes after F1's August break, had been fun, but was not in any way decisive. "We're so tightly fought, it's hard to say that momentum is on anyone's side, but we're fighting hard, both of us, and it's fun. It's tough, but fun racing with Oscar. 'Credit to Oscar' "And it's great for us as a team, another 1-2 and our 200th win in Formula One. "Credit to Oscar, he put up a good charge and I just about held on, so I look forward to many more of these." Piastri, who was within a second,said: "I pushed as hard as I could. I saw Lando going for a one (stop) so I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is easier said then done around here. "I tried a few things, but it was a gamble either way and, unfortunately, we were just on the other side of it. Piastri questioned his team's decision to try to 'undercut' pole sitter and early leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in the early stages of the race. "I'm not sure that was the right call in the end,' he said. That call ensured Piastri would be on a two-stop strategy while Norris kept his options open – and as Leclerc fell away from leading, Mercedes' George Russell stormed through to finish third ahead of him in a frustrated fourth place for Ferrari. The outcome was McLaren's fourth consecutive 1-2 in succession and Norris's fifth win this year and ninth of his career. McLaren now lead Ferrari by 299 points in the constructors' championship ahead of the final 10 races of the season starting at the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31. © 2025 AFP
France 24
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Norris wins in Hungary to trim Piastri lead as McLaren reel off another 1-2
The 25-year-old Briton, who moved from a two-stop strategy to one stop, held off series leader Piastri, on fresher tyres, over the closing laps of a strategic contest to claim McLaren's 200th victory and their record 13th win in Hungary. It was Norris's first win at the Hungaroring in the event's 40th race, avenging his 'team orders' defeat in 2024 when Piastri claimed his maiden success, his fifth victory of the season and the ninth of his career. The dominant McLaren pair finished 22 seconds clear of third-placed George Russell of Mercedes with pole sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari fourth, grumbling at the Italian team's poor planning after he slipped out of the leading position. "I wasn't planning to do a one-stop," said Norris. "But it was the only option to get back into things and it was tough. Oscar was pushing all the way." Piastri said he had done all he could to triumph. "It was great racing," he said. "Lando did a great job." His drive brought McLaren their fourth consecutive 1-2 finish. Two-time champion Fernando Alonso came home fifth for Aston Martin ahead of Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin, rookie Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls and frustrated four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli was 10th ahead of Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton 12th in the second Ferrari, 24 hours after declaring himself undeserving of their race seat. Heavy overnight rain had 're-set' the track on a breezy afternoon in front of a big crowd at the Hungaroring. Classic scrap The track temperature was only 31 degrees, encouraging thoughts of a one-stop race as tyre-wear decreased and Leclerc controlled the pace ahead of Piastri, Russell and Norris. Piastri pitted on lap 18, seeking an undercut. He returned in fifth as Leclerc responded to stay ahead. Norris inherited the lead and had a 10-second advantage, as the Monegasque regained second, with Piastri third. He then chose to stay out until pitting, in just 1.9 seconds, for hards on lap 31, rejoining fourth and facing a long run home. At the front, Leclerc responded to an apparent 'bluff' call from McLaren and pitted, falling to fourth and gifting Piastri the lead ahead of a rapid Norris as the race dissolved into a strategy and tyre-management contest between the two McLarens. Norris revelled in his delayed one-stop tactic as Piastri made a second pit on lap 45, the Briton leading with a frustrated Ferrari second, Leclerc blaming his team for bungling his plan before being passed by Piastri around Turn One on lap 51. This left Norris, on ageing tyres, leading his team-mate in a classic scrap to the flag, negotiating traffic and separated by half a second over the final laps. On lap 68, the Australian went close to passing in Turn One and on lap 69, he locked up. "Remember how we go racing," Piastri's engineer Tom Stallard reminded him. For Leclerc, soon left a distant third by the two McLarens, it was another pole wasted – the 15th time he failed to convert pole into a win in 16 attempts – and it grew worse when Russell, after two attempts, passed him on lap 63.
