Lando Norris wins Hungarian Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri dudded by McLaren strategy
Norris suffered a horror start to the race as he slipped down to fifth place, but a decision to go with a one-stop strategy paid off for the British driver as he secured his fifth win of the season.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Piastri hunted his teammate down but couldn't get past him in the final laps as he had to cross the line second with his championship lead shrinking to nine points.
The Aussie driver pitted early in an attempt to undercut Ferrari's Charles Leclerc but the strategy left him with a mountain of work to do late and had fans watching on questioning if the team had favoured Norris.
'I don't know if trying to undercut Leclerc was the right call in the end but we can go through that after,' Piastri said.
Behind the McLaren duo it was Mercedes' George Russell who secured the final spot on the podium with Leclerc falling down to fourth.
The Ferrari driver was left seething with his own team after his race was ruined by a change in setup to the car.
The Formula 1 grid will now head off for the summer break before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, August 31.
Originally published as Lando Norris wins Hungary GP as Oscar Piastri dudded by strategy
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The Australian
29 minutes ago
- The Australian
Oscar Piastri finishes second in the Hungarian Grand Prix
Australia's Oscar Piastri will head into Formula One's annual Summer break with his lead in the world drivers' championship reduced to single figures after he finished a close runner-up to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Once again, Piastri came off second best after Norris's engineers used a superior race strategy, stopping just once to change tyres while Piastri pitted twice at the Hungaroring circuit on the outskirts of Budapest. With each pit stop taking around 20 seconds, Piastri saw his commanding eight second lead over Norris turned into a 12 second deficit when he put on a second set of hard compound tyres 24 laps from the end of the race. With fresher rubber, Piastri was able to slash the margin to Norris to less than a second with four laps to go but couldn't get past his English teammate on the tight track, despite making a late lunge on the final lap that almost brought the two cars together. In the end, he had to settle for second spot, his 12th podium finish in 14 races this season. 'I pushed as hard as I could. I saw Lando going for a one (stop strategy) so I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is easier said than done around here,' Piastri said. 'Tried a few things; it was a gamble either way and unfortunately, we were just on the other side of it. 'The team did a great job, the car really came alive in the second half of the race - and the car has been great all weekend. Looking forward to taking some time off. 'I think I needed to be a couple of tenths closer, and it was going to take a mistake from Lando to achieve that. You never want to try and save it for the next lap and it never comes, so I thought I would at least try, but not quite.' Lando Norris was under pressure from Oscar Piastri in the closing laps Finishing second wasn't all bad news for the 24-year-old Australian because he still leads the championship standings by nine points, with Norris in second spot and looming as his only realistic rival for the crown. Heading into the month-long break with 10 races to go when the season resumes, Piastri's 284 points tally is seven more than Max Verstappen had at the stage last year. The Dutchman only won two of the last 10 races but still managed to win his fourth title in 2024 so Piastri remains in a strong position heading into the back end of the season. 'There's some things to analyse with the team, but overall, I thought it was a good day.' Piastri said. 'We just need to keep doing mostly what we've been doing. 'I think the pace has been very good. My execution of races has been good as well. It's going to be a tight battle all the way to the end.' Despite the time advantage he gained from only taking one stop, Norris was struggling to hold off the fast-finishing Piastri over the close laps because his tyres were degrading quickly so had to drive a great race to win . 'I'm dead, it was tough,' he said. '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 so my voice has gone a little bit. It feels good and rewarding a little more because of that.' Having to nurse his tyres through the last 40 laps, Norris said he believed he'd make it to the chequered flag, which was waved by Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose. 'I didn't think it would probably get us to win, I thought it would get us into second' Norris said. '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 for these kinds of 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.' Oscar nearly got past Lando Norris on the last lap On his world championship battle with his teammate, Norris said: '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.' George Russell finished third for Mercedes to retain fourth place in the championship, albeit 112 points behind Piastri. Verstappen finished ninth, missing the podium for the fourth race in a row, the first time he's done that since 2017. He remains third, 97 points behind the Australian, but says he had no hope of winning the title because the McLarens are just too fast. Saturday's win in Hungary was McLaren's 200th Grand Prix victory all-time, and their seventh one-two finish in 14 races this season. The British team leads the constructors' championship by a mind-boggling 299 points. 'It's great for us as a team and another one-two and our 200th win in Formula 1,' Norris said. 'Credit to Oscar, he put up a good charge and I just about held on, so I look forward to many more of these.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Wallabies avoid a Lions series whitewash with brilliant win in Sydney
Latest posts Latest posts Match report: Wallabies win a wild and wet battle against the Lions in Sydney By Iain Payten It was wet, it was wild and, most importantly, it was a win. The Wallabies have scored one of their bravest victories in recent memory by beating the British and Irish Lions in the third Test in Sydney, avoiding a series whitewash. In a bizarre game that saw cyclonic conditions and the game even stop for 40 minutes during the second half due to lightning in the area, the Wallabies were immense in turning an 8-0 half-time lead into a 22-12 win, salvaging pride and respect, and a 2-1 series finish. Derided by many in the last year as not even worthy of playing the Lions, the Wallabies muscled up and dominated the game, defending with power and aggression and winning battles all across the field. Leading 15-0 with 25 minutes remaining, the Lions made a brief comeback by scoring but a late try to Tate McDermott sealed the courageous win. Will Skelton was a colossus, and in his final Test before retirement, halfback Nic White also turned in one of his best performances in the wet and slippery conditions. Superb performances were found all across the team, however, with Tom Hooper awarded man of the match and Nick Frost also strong. The win was all the more impressive given the Wallabies lost five-eighth Tom Lynagh after 33 minutes to an elbow to the head by Dan Sheehan at a ruck, which red card worthy but was missed by the TMO Marius Jonker. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt lauded his side's character in dealing with a difficult week and a difficult game, and coming out on top. 'It is certainly one of the more bizarre games,' Schmidt said. 'That's the longest test match I've ever been involved in with a big hiatus in the 43rd minute. But again, I couldn't be (any) prouder of the way that the players rebounded after last week, after the feeling of disappointment that they had and it was deep. You almost had to let that run its course and then springboard back.' The lightning break lasted 38 minutes but the Wallabies and the Lions' actions during the stand-down, and during the warm-up before a restart, were a clear sign into the differing hunger levels. The Wallabies stayed warm on bikes, passed balls and had unit coaching and then did a 10-minute warm-up. Before former Wallaby-turned-Lions manager David Nucifora covered the dressing camera with a towel, Lions players were seen on their phones and lying down, before only doing a five-minute warm-up. 'We had been warned that there might be lightning so we had a little bit of a plan and with that plan we wanted to make sure that players kept moving so we had different guys rotating onto the bikes,' Schmidt said. 'We had a couple of bikes so they were doing had four balls in the changing room that we'd just thrown around just so they could stay connected and the rest of the time it was really just trying to get us organised for the restart of the game.' Lions coach Andy Farrell joked: 'Rigor mortis was setting in at one stage there for the lads. That's what you come to expect with a schedule like the Lions schedule. We have seen it all now. 'What came off the back of that is Australia came out running and deserved their victory. 'I suppose there is frustration there, we have said all along we want to win every game. 'The best team won on the reflection, it might take or two beers, but they will be unbelievably proud of what they've achieved They are a good side, Australia. They've proved that through the series.' The Wallabies led 8-0 at half-time after a strong opening 40 minutes that saw them dominate territory and possession. And given the atrocious conditions, both were invaluable. Things started wobbly for the hosts when they lost their first lineout, in the Lions' half, and it would remain a hit-and-miss set piece for the half. The Wallabies kept up the attack however, and after a series of pick-and-go charges near the line, they won an advantage and tried their hand to the left edge. Nice hands found Dylan Pietsch with a short run to the line and the big winger dived over for an opening try. The Wallabies' defence was equally good early, and they repelled the Lions from their own line soon after the try. The rest of the half then turned into an arm wrestle, with lots of tactical kicking and one-out runs to build pressure. The gigantic presence of Will Skelton, and the boot of halfback Nic White, came to the fore – particularly with Skelton providing an aggressive attitude when skirmishes broke out. There was no backward steps taken and the soaked crowd loved it. The Wallabies turned down an easy three in the 26th minute in search of a try, but after some failed attempts, Lynagh eventually banged over a three-pointer in the 33rd minute. Lynagh was taken off for an HIA – which he failed – and the foul play that created it was completely missed by the referees. Lions hooker Sheehan charged into Lynagh at a ruck with his arm tucked and hit him in the head. The Wallabies defended their line again superbly before the break, with Hooper making a vital turnover, denying the Lions a late comeback before the break. Play resumed for eight minutes and the Lions lost their second starting lock to concussion, with James Ryan stretchered off. In bizarre scenes, the players then left the field for 30 minutes due to a lightning strike in the area, and after 10 more minutes of warm-up, the game finally resumed. The break worked in Australia's favour, with Skelton given a rest and the Wallabies kept up the pressure upon resumption.' 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It was not pretty, but it was wonderful, the Wallabies have shown exactly what this team means to them. 10.24pm on Aug 2, 2025 Tate McDermott scores for the Wallabies British and Irish Lions hooker Ronan Kelleher has been sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for offside. Dan Sheehan the man who should have been given a red is back on the field to balance the scrums. The Wallabies really need to hold on here and shut this game out. The brilliant sniper Tate McDermott dives over. Incredible. Surely this game is out of sight? Surely. Wallabies 22 Lions 7 10.14pm on Aug 2, 2025 The Lions fight back with a Morgan try Jac Morgan, who else, scores for the Lions after the Wallabies just could not deal with the intense pressure from the Lions. This is the key part of the game, can the Wallabies hold on from here? We have 20 minutes to find out. Australia cannot let this slip again after the heartbreak of the MCG. Wallabies 15 Lions 7 10.10pm on Aug 2, 2025 Nic White goes off and bows What a final Test appearance for Nic White who was outstanding for his 60 minutes on the field. He gave the Wallabies so much energy and fight in the rain tonight. He bows to the crowd and the applause is well deserved. Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton have emptied the tank and can barely walk. The Lions are heavily pressurising and a break thankfully always Zane Nonggorr to come on. Wallabies 15 Lions 0 10.04pm on Aug 2, 2025 Max Jorgensen scores for the Wallabies Classic Max Jorgensen. He scoops the ball up as Lions centre Bundee Aki drops it and sprints half the pitch to score. Ben Donaldson nails the conversion. Now, we have been here before, can the Wallabies keep their heads and not blow this lead? Nic White is having a hell of a final Test. He has silenced any doubters. The perfect energy spark for teh Wallabies. Wallabies 15 Lions 0 9.53pm on Aug 2, 2025 We are back Taniela Tupou was almost through there with a brilliant burst, but split the ball with the line at his mercy. The Wallabies haven't missed a beat, but this is going to be a desperately tough half against the Lions. If the Lions gets a quick try here, it's absolutely game on. Nick Frost cannot stop stealing lineouts, he has been outstanding for the Wallabies. Wallabies 8 Lions 0 9.44pm on Aug 2, 2025 The Wallabies are back onto the field The Wallabies are going through their warm ups and this extended break will have upset their rhythm, but hopefully, it might have given the team a few more minutes out of Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou, both of whom have been impressive. There's been real niggle in this game, and no love is lost between these two teams. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has had more than enough to rev his team up and get them on message. The New Zealander will be disgusted that Lions hooker head shot on Tom Lynagh has been missed by TMO Marius Jonker, but that can wait. There's a huge half of rugby to win. We are nearly ready. 9.37pm on Aug 2, 2025 The players are back at 9.40pm This is a really bizarre experience. We are sitting here wondering when the game is going to start again and Irish prop Tadhg Furlong is having a nap in the changing room. There have been four pitch invaders, the security guards have recorded 100% tackling efficiency. The Wallabies could have done with them in the first Test. The players are back in five minutes we have been told. They will have to do a 10 minute warm up when they come out. I have watched rugby for at least 30 years and have never seen anything like this. 9.26pm on Aug 2, 2025 Payto's on the huge miss on Tom Lynagh head shot By Iain Payten This is a fair dinkum battle. Both sides have been smashing each other and there is clearly no love lost. Scuffles have broken out repeatedly. World Rugby can expect from flying tackles from Dan Herbert and Phil Waugh after thet foul play on Tom Lynagh was missed entirely by the match officials. After all the drama of last week, where they bristled at criticism about player safety, their match officials missed an elbow to the head of a prone player at a ruck. What is more galling is that he had to go for an HIA - meaning the incident should have been heavily scrutinised by TMO Marius Jonker. It was a red card offence, and it was missed. Unacceptable. Who will benefit from the lightning delay? Hard to know. The Wallabies would be hoping the Lions would fatigue at the end of a long tour, so it's probably the visitors.
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Conspiracy theory twist after Charles Leclerc's radio blow-up at Ferrari
Don't miss out on the headlines from F1. Followed categories will be added to My News. Charles Leclerc slammed his own team in a blistering radio message at the Hungarian Grand Prix as his frustration with Ferrari's strategy calls continued. Leclerc took a surprise pole position at the Hungaroring and would have been aiming to at least finish on the podium in the main race. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The 27-year-old from Monaco was furious over team radio during the race, blaming Ferrari for an unmentioned issue with his car. Leclerc started the race superbly, leading for the first 20 laps before his first pit stop to give him hope of victory. But he bizarrely fell well off the pace in his final stint, getting overtaken by George Russell, who snuck onto the podium behind race winner Lando Norris, who benefited from a one-stop strategy to beat Oscar Piastri. 'This is so incredibly frustrating,' Leclerc raged in a lengthy team radio message to Ferrari you can watch above. 'We have lost all competitiveness. 'You just had to listen to me, I would have found a different way of managing those issues. 'Now it's just undrivable. Undrivable. It's a miracle if we finish on the podium.' He did walk back his comments after the race, saying his dramatic drop off in pace in his final stint was due to a chassis issue with his car. 'First of all, I need to take back the words I've said on the radio,' Leclerc said post-race. 'Because I thought that it was coming from one thing but then I got a lot more details since I got out the car, and it was actually an issue coming from the chassis, and nothing that we could have done differently. It was a tough day at the office for Charles Leclerc. (Photo by) Leclerc's pace dropped off dramatically in the second half of the race. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos) 'I started to feel the issue in Lap 40, or something like that, and it got worse lap after lap after lap. Towards the end, we were two seconds off the pace and the car was just undrivable. 'I repeat myself, but this was an issue, and it's an outlier. It shouldn't ever happen again. I'm still very disappointed we had one opportunity this year to win a race, which I think was this weekend. 'The first stint was perfect. The first laps of the second stint were really good as well, and I think we were in pace to try and win that race. 'The last stint was a disaster when I started to have that issue.' Theory Ferrari tried to avoid DQ George Russell, who overtook Leclerc late in the race, floated the theory Ferrari were using a specific engine mode and raising tyre pressure to look after the plank underneath Leclerc's car, slowing him down to avoid a potential disqualification. 'I saw how close he was, something was not right,' Russell explained. 'The only think we can think is that they were running the car too close to the ground and they had to increase the tyre pressure for the last stint, because they were using an engine mode which makes the engine slower at the end of the straight, which is where you have the most amount of plank wear.' Both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for excessive plank wear — an issue Ferrari have had to manage throughout the season. If the 10mm plank wears down more than 1mm during a race, the car is disqualified. Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson noticed sparks flying from underneath Leclerc's car at the start of the race. 'It's really hard for all the teams to get right,' Davidson said. Did Ferrari make Charles Leclerc's car slower he didn't get disqualified? (Photo by) 'You want it for qualifying but then you dump a load of fuel, around 100kg, go into it heavier with colder tyres. You can do a lot of damage to plank wear. 'When you come to the final pit stop and they're worried about the car being too low, therefore the plank wear being too high … 'He comes in. The next set of tyres going on, if they're boosted pressures, it plays havoc with grip. It's a good case study from George. It's funny how the teams analyse each other. 'They've got all the data and they knew exactly what was going on with Leclerc's straight-line speed. 'I was in the pitlane and I said it would be hard for Leclerc to be overtaken because he's been quick all weekend down the straight. But he was like a sitting duck which was a real surprise to me. 'The other teams have seen the data. They have seen the straight line speed drop throughout the race. At maximum speed you are doing most downforce and the biggest damage to the plank. Charles Leclerc started on pole position but missed the podium. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP) 'The set of tyres which went on might have had unwanted pressure, they overheat quicker, and there goes your grip.' 'It was a preventative measure,' Bernie Collins said on Sky Sports. 'Raising tyre pressure raises the ride height, that's why you get less plank wear. 'It's very small but with these cars millimetres make a difference. 'That is a preventive measure, it's a way of preventing the plank hitting so much. They can see how much the plank is contacting on the earlier stints. They can take the pace for the earlier stints but maybe not the whole race. 'George mentioned maybe they turned down the engines so the car is not so fast. If the car is not so fast on the straight, you take off downforce, and the rear of the car will lift up. 'Both methods will prevent the plank being in contact with the ground. Leclerc appeared to hint at the plank wear issue on radio late in the race, saying: 'I can feel what we discussed before the race. We need to discuss those things, before doing those. 'We are going to lose this race with these things. We are losing so much time.' Leclerc ultimately missed the podium and finished fourth — he has 27 career pole positions but has only converted those into a race wins five times. Leclerc and Hamilton have repeatedly clashed with their race engineers over team radio, disagreeing about strategy decisions, tyre choices or being frustrated about being spoken to during key parts of the race. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur signed a multi-year contract extension with the team last week. Lewis Hamilton sounds like a broken man Fans were also concerned for Lewis Hamilton after his own dejected message to his Ferrari colleagues. Hamilton had a nightmare Hungarian Grand Prix today, finishing in a disappointing 12th. The seven-time world champion failed to pick up any points and sounded like a broken man over the team radio post-race. Hamilton said: 'Really sorry about this weekend guys, for losing you points.' He also reportedly sat in his car for some time after parking it up. BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - AUGUST 03: Twelfth placed Lewis Hamilton after the Hungarian Grand Prix. (Photo by) It comes after the Brit's woeful qualifying session yesterday that saw him exit in Q2 while teammate Leclerc secured a shock pole. Hamilton again sounded crestfallen over the team radio, saying: 'It's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless. 'The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole so we probably need to change driver.' Told by a member of the Ferrari team that his assessment was wrong, Hamilton replied: 'It clearly is. I just drove terribly. It is what it is.' Fans were left shocked by Hamilton's comments over the weekend, with one saying: 'Champions apologise even when they don't have to. That's why he's different.' Hamilton is yet to finish on the podium since making the move from Mercedes this season, while Leclerc has five podiums this year but is still chasing his first win of the season. — With The Sun Originally published as Conspiracy theory twist after Charles Leclerc's radio blow-up at Ferrari
