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Martin Brundle feels McLaren were right to deny Lando Norris’ request to break their “team protocol” during his battle with Oscar Piastri in the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The papaya pals locked horns at the Hungaroring on Sunday as a first win of the season was on the line. Norris took McLaren’s first pole of 2026 last Saturday, but he soon found himself running behind teammate Piastri – who had only qualified fifth, yet actually started from P3.
Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton’s grid penalty for impeding Piastri in Hungary and Mercedes star Andrea Kimi Antonelli also receiving a grid drop promoted the McLaren ace up the order. He then made a faster start than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, before Norris ran wide in Turn 2.
Lando Norris wins his first race of 2026 at the Hungarian GP! Rate that wild race out of 10!
Martin Brundle thinks McLaren were right not to let Lando Norris undercut Oscar Piastri in Hungary
It seemed like Norris’ mistake could hand the Hungarian GP victory to Piastri, as well, as the former did not find a way back past the Australian until the second round of pit stops when he overcut his teammate. Norris profited from Williams racer Carlos Sainz ignoring the blue flags and hitting Piastri, who lost the lead of the race due to the time the incident cost him.
READ MORE: Lando Norris wins the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix after Oscar Piastri retires
Ultimately, Piastri’s incident with Sainz did not affect the outcome of the race as the former retired on Lap 56 of 70 with a gearbox problem. Norris had already run off into the distance before Piastri’s retirement, which Brundle claims proved the Briton’s point about him being the faster McLaren driver during the Hungarian GP after alluding to it over the team’s radio.
Norris also asked McLaren over the radio whether he could pit before Piastri during the first rounds of stops to try to undercut his teammate. But McLaren rejected Norris’ request, and Brundle feels it was the right decision as Piastri had the right to stop first as the race leader.
Brundle told Sky Sports: “Norris was on the radio saying that he was faster than teammate Piastri in the lead, without specifically asking to be let through. Then he asked to pit first, but the pit wall rightly denied that, as team protocol is that the leading of the two drivers has first option on stopping.
“It was beginning to look like Norris’ slide wide in Turn 2 and handing the lead to Piastri would cost him a victory. McLaren pitted Piastri on Lap 16 to cover off the pit stops from Hamilton and [Red Bull’s Max] Verstappen, and Norris next lap around on Lap 17.
“But it was the second round of stops on this high tyre wear circuit that made the difference. Piastri pitted on Lap 33 again to cover Hamilton on fresh tyres, and then Norris had his chance to prove he was indeed faster by running hard and pitting on Lap 39, giving him a decent tyre life offset to his teammate Piastri.”
How well did McLaren handle the battle between their drivers in Hungary?
Oscar Piastri wasn't happy after being overcut by Lando Norris
Norris spent the first two stints of the Hungarian GP stuck to Piastri’s gearbox to send a clear message to McLaren that he was quicker than his teammate. The Briton never let his papaya pal have any breathing room, and eventually proved his pace once in clean air with the lead.
Had Sainz not baulked Piastri when the Spaniard was too focused on his fight with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin to acknowledge the repeated blue flags that he was shown, then the McLaren man may have still managed to stop Norris from retaking the lead with an overcut.
Norris then hammered home his point about being quicker than Piastri with a string of rapid lap times, to which McLaren told the reigning champion over the radio that he had “nothing to prove”. Piastri still eventually fell to over 12 seconds behind Norris before his retirement.
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