Norris hails ‘perfect’ way to enter F1 break after beating team mate Piastri to Hungary victory in ‘flat-out’ battle

Lando Norris was all smiles following the Hungarian Grand Prix, having resisted a blistering charge from McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri to take the chequered flag first.

Norris endured a difficult start to Sunday’s race in Budapest when he dropped from third to fifth, behind Aston Martin rival Fernando Alonso and the Mercedes of George Russell.

After making his way past Alonso’s car, Norris decided to stretch out his first stint and opt for a one-stop strategy, while Russell, Piastri and pole-sitting Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc went down the two-stop route.

Norris assumed the lead of the race once the final pit stops had been completed and, despite Piastri closing a gap of more than 10 seconds to pile the pressure on in the closing laps, the Briton ultimately had enough in hand to secure the win.

“I’m dead, I’m dead,” Norris smiled when giving his initial reaction to the fight and race as a whole before the podium ceremony.

“We weren’t really planning on the 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.

“The final stint with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat-out. My voice has gone a little bit! But good, rewarding even more because of that – the perfect result today.”

Asked to expand on why he went for one stop rather than two, Norris continued: “I didn’t think it would probably get us the win; I thought maybe it would get us at least into second.

“I knew our pace was good. Even in the first stint behind George, I couldn’t get past but the pace was strong, so I knew if I just had some clean air and I could push, I could maybe make things work. That’s what we did.

“It’s always a bit of a gamble, these kind of things, but it also requires no mistakes, good laps, good strategy, all these things. That’s what we had today, so I’m very happy.”

Norris’ ninth career win means he cuts Piastri’s championship lead from 16 points to nine as teams head into the summer break – setting up a thrilling second half of 2025.

As for whether he feels momentum is on his side in the intra-team battle, Norris said: “I think we’re so tightly fought it’s hard to say if momentum is on anyone’s side.

“We’re fighting hard, I think both of us… It’s tough, but fun racing against Oscar.

“It’s great for us as a team, another 1-2, our 200th win actually in F1. Credit to Oscar, he put up a good charge and I just about held on. I look forward to plenty more of these.”