Oscar Piastri sent message by Lando Norris after win his maiden F1 race at the Hungarian GP

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The debrief in the McLaren Hospitality Centre – or what’s left of it after a fire in Spain and damage sustained over the weekend – would have been an incredibly tense affair after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It’s hard to imagine anything but elation within the McLaren team after they secured their first one-two finish since Monza 2021, however, the way they reached the chequered flag was controversial, to say the least.

A running trend at the Hungarian Grand Prix continued with Lando Norris unable to hold onto the lead heading down to the first corner despite starting on pole position.

He got caught up with Max Verstappen allowing Oscar Piastri to dive down the inside and race off into the distance.

The fate of the race looked sealed until McLaren made a very defensive strategy call during the last round of pit stops.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

They stopped Norris first, allowing him to undercut Piastri and when the Australian was told he would be handed the place back, he simply didn’t have enough pace to close the gap.

Eventually, Norris handed the position back to his teammate to allow Piastri to take his maiden Formula 1 victory.

Piastri took to Instagram to celebrate the occasion and Norris sent his less experienced teammate a message as a result.

However, it’s likely to be a topic of conversation that rumbles on for some time.

McLaren are catching Red Bull very quickly in the Constructors’ Championship and now only sit 51 points behind their rivals.

Unfortunately for Norris, he missed out on seven valuable points as he desperately tries to chase down Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Lando Norris sends Oscar Piastri message after Hungarian Grand Prix win

Posting on social media after the race, Piastri said: “I dreamt of this day as a little kid back in Australia. A truly unbelievable feeling.

“Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me and thanks to the team for this opportunity and all their hard work. Such a special day.”

Norris was among the thousands of people to reply to Piastri’s message and simply said: “Congrats bro!”

Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu, who raced Piastri in Formula 2, added: “Well done mate!”, while current F2 champion Theo Pourchaire said: “Congrats!!”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration

McLaren now need to make team orders decision to challenge for 2024 championships

Team principal Andrea Stella now has a decision to make that he would like the summer break to ponder on but may need to be confirmed before Spa on Sunday.

Lando Norris is McLaren’s best chance of usurping Verstappen in the driver’s standings and even though he’s 76 points behind the triple world champion, there are enough races left in the season for him to theoretically close that gap.

If McLaren want to win that championship, then they have to start prioritising Norris in situations like this.

However, if their only aim is to challenge for the Constructors’ Championship, then playing it safe as they did in Hungary was the right call.

The trouble with that strategy is how long can they keep Norris happy if he’s asked to sacrifice his own race for Piastri with Verstappen in his sights.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner didn’t understand McLaren’s decisions during the race.

As a team principal who has plenty of experience winning, and experience handling two drivers who both want to win races, Stella might need to listen to his advice more closely.