Martin Brundle tells Lando Norris how he could have fairly won the Hungarian Grand Prix

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Lando Norris was understandably upset on Sunday after missing out on another opportunity to add to his maiden Formula 1 win in Miami.

McLaren had the fastest car at the Hungarian Grand Prix and even an upgraded Red Bull with Max Verstappen at the wheel couldn’t compete with them across the race weekend.

Lando Norris pulled off a fantastic pole position and with one fewer fast run in Q3, he was still quicker than Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri.

However, the start of the race didn’t go as planned for Norris and that ultimately cost him victory.

Norris didn’t get a bad getaway off the grid, but Piastri nailed his start and Verstappen made the most of the slipstream he got down the long run to turn one.

The British driver ended the first lap of the race in 3^rd and although Verstappen was told to give the place back to Norris after overtaking him off the track, the gap to Piastri had already been built.

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

Writing on the Sky Sports F1 website, Martin Brundle has shared how Norris could have legitimately won the race without causing a PR disaster for McLaren.

The team’s cautious pit strategy during the final stint handed Norris an unexpected chance to win in Hungary when he undercut Piastri.

He then pulled out a significant gap over his teammate and David Coulthard loved one message Norris sent to McLaren as they tried to talk him into relinquishing his position.

On lap 68, Norris slowed down on the pit straight and allowed Piastri to pass, but the situation could have gone very differently if he followed Brundle’s advice.

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

Martin Brundle tells Lando Norris how he could have fairly won the Hungarian Grand Prix

Talking about how the final stint of the race unfolded, Brundle said: “But McLaren has risen to be the team to beat on the grid these past few races because they’ve had a very strong team ethic and a calm, professional and methodical approach under the increasingly impressive Stella.

“They have frequently swapped the two drivers around in the past couple of seasons, and as they said to Lando on the radio, you’ll need all of us if you want to be champion.

“I wonder what Oscar would have done if the roles had been reversed.

“His manager Mark Webber was on the receiving end of the infamous Red Bull Multi-21 team orders in Malaysia 2013 when Sebastian Vettel ignored pre-race agreements and in-race instructions.

“What Lando should have done is let Oscar through immediately when requested, and then given himself the maximum opportunity to overtake, if he could, to take victory that way.”

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

McLaren’s radio messages to Lando Norris not to everyone’s taste

While it makes sense from a fairness perspective for Norris to have handed the place back to Piastri in the closing stages, there are plenty of former F1 world champions who wouldn’t have been so kind.

Marc Priestley wasn’t a fan of one message McLaren sent to Norris and the situation in general could have been handled much more smoothly.

It should have been made clear to Norris what the situation was before the final round of pit stops, and the polite request should have been more forceful.

Instead, they opened the door to a driver who desperately needs every point he can score to try and hunt down Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

Had Norris followed Brundle’s advice and handed the place back immediately, he would have been able to demonstrate to the team that he was the faster driver during the final stint. McLaren do allow their drivers to race but might have tried to put a stop to a Norris assault on Piastri to protect their one-two finish either way.