Lando Norris’ Hungarian Grand Prix win suggests he’s now overcome ‘very weak’ McLaren issue

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Lando Norris secured a crucial victory in the context of the Formula 1 title race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

He now trails Oscar Piastri by just nine points heading into the summer break, with it all to play for in the final 10 races of the season.

McLaren’s car is far superior to their rivals at most circuits, and their biggest worry now appears to be how their drivers go about fighting each other.

After an early-season blip, Norris’ full confidence appears to have returned, and he now stands a great chance of winning his first drivers’ championship.

Shortly before his win at the Hungarian Grand Prix, in rather unusual fashion, Norris was getting a telling off from McLaren and was warned not to make mistakes.

Martin Brundle believes that Piastri will be ‘seething’ with McLaren for having put him on a two-stop strategy, even though most teams felt it was the quicker idea.

READ MORE: Lando Norris makes ‘tough’ Oscar Piastri remark immediately after epic Hungarian Grand Prix battle

Lando Norris win suggests he has overcome ‘very weak’ McLaren traits after the Hungarian Grand Prix

Piastri missed his ‘best chance’ to overtake Norris and believes that the only way to win in Hungary was if his teammate made a mistake.

Early in the season, Norris blasted McLaren’s car, telling the F1 website that he couldn’t cope with some of the ‘very weak’ traits of their car.

“It doesn’t suit me in terms of me wanting to push the entries and push the braking – it’s very weak from that point of view,” he said.

“So not what I like, but at the same time some of it is down to the adaptation of needing to change a little bit my driving style every year, because the McLaren I drive this year is very different to what the McLaren was a few years ago – clearly, because we were at the back and now we’re at the front.”

But after dropping as low as fifth on the first lap in Hungary, he charged back confidently and claimed a third win in four races.

It’s a sign that perhaps Norris is over the ‘very weak’ problems his car faced at the start of 2025. Perhaps a new page has been turned?

READ MORE: Martin Brundle shares what McLaren made Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ‘understand’ after Hungarian Grand Prix debacle

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Heading into the latter portion of the season, Norris has one major upper hand over Piastri that he will need to use at every race.

He has five more seasons’ worth of experience, which should pay dividends in battle, with his car setup and when it comes to strategy.

The Briton should know exactly what he wants from every race. Now is the time for him to reap the rewards of his loyalty to McLaren over the last six years.

Charles Leclerc refused to ‘rule out’ Norris and knows what he is capable of on a racetrack. If he reaches his potential, he will be a dangerous opponent for the rest of 2025.