Oscar Piastri reveals how he missed his ‘best chance’ to overtake Lando Norris and win the Hungarian Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri fought valiantly in pursuit of first place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but fell short by just seven tenths of a second.

McLaren teammate Lando Norris held his nerve under intense pressure to win, despite two last-gasp dives from the Aussie.

On the penultimate lap, Piastri might have been inches from making contact after locking up and misjudging a late move.

However, he just about avoided Norris, watching on as his drivers’ championship lead was reduced to just nine points heading into the summer break.

Karun Chandhok was stunned by Norris, who lost a lot of pace between Q2 and Q3 on Saturday. He couldn’t have bounced back in much better style on Sunday.

After a hard-fought battle in the first half of the year, McLaren want the 2025 F1 title to be decided on ‘merit’ and allowing their drivers to dice for position is the best way to do so.

READ MORE: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s Spa radio messages uncovered a worrying difference for Damon Hill

Oscar Piastri’s ‘best chance’ to beat Lando Norris at the Hungarian Grand Prix was with a mistake

Piastri agrees with Max Verstappen about the title fight and now views it as a two-way fight between himself and Norris.

Just one week ago, after the Belgian Grand Prix, F1 fans were convinced Piastri would win the title, but their minds might have changed again this weekend.

Norris’ performance under pressure means that his win was one of his best. It came exactly when he needed. A 14-point swing would have seen him enter the summer break trailing by 23 points otherwise.

Speaking after the race, Piastri admitted that he felt the ‘best chance’ he had to beat his teammate was only if he had made a mistake.

“I think I needed to be at least a couple of tenths closer, which was going to take a mistake from Lando to achieve that,” he said in Formula 1’s official post-race interviews. “I felt like that was going to be my best chance.

“You never want to try and save it for the next lap and then it never comes, so I thought I would at least try, and not quite.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris explains why Oscar Piastri is ‘better’ than former McLaren teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo

Has Lando Norris started listening to an F1 champion after recent improvements?

Norris has now won three of the last four Formula 1 races and is building momentum at a crucial time in the season.

When the summer break ends, he has a genuine chance of getting back ahead of his teammate in the standings. He’s vulnerable to any reliability woes.

Nico Rosberg is relieved Norris started listening to him by blocking out external noise and focusing on himself.

As the year develops, the more noise and pressure there will be on his situation. It’s going to be important to continue to focus on his own circumstances.