Oscar Piastri slammed for his ‘hopeless’ act in failed bid to beat Lando Norris to Hungarian Grand Prix win

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Lando Norris held off his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, which cut his deficit atop the drivers’ standings down to only nine points.

The Briton capitalised on McLaren letting their drivers go their own way with their strategies on Sunday to deny the Australian by 0.698 seconds. Norris maximised a one-stop strategy he was almost forced to gamble on, while Piastri made a late charge on a two-stop strategy.

Norris would likely have also favoured a two-stop race had the 25-year-old not fallen behind Mercedes’ George Russell and even Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the start. Running in behind Russell especially left Norris with nothing to lose, as he failed to pass his compatriot.

Russell and Alonso took advantage of Norris braking early to prevent crashing into Piastri at the start of the Hungarian GP, having been boxed in on the inside for Turn 1. But the time he lost following Russell tempted a change in plan, which won Norris track position over Piastri.

Marc Surer slams Oscar Piastri’s ‘hopeless’ attempt to pass Lando Norris in the Hungarian GP

McLaren are happy to let their drivers adopt differing strategies as long as they keep it clean on the circuit if Norris and Piastri find themselves fighting for a position. But the tyre offset the Australian gained with his two-stop strategy nearly saw the papaya pals come to blows.

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

Piastri locked up under braking into T1 trying to scare Norris during the Hungarian GP on Lap 69 of 70, with the 24-year-old’s front wing narrowly avoiding his teammate’s rear end. It was an ambitious dive into the first corner, likely intended to put Norris off for the run to Turn 2.

It was also Piastri’s only realistic chance to pass Norris after dashing the 9.008s deficit he faced after overtaking Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc for P2 on L51 of the Hungarian GP. Marc Surer expected to see much more of an attack than one ambitious dive under braking for T1.

“I was expecting an attack right from the start,” Surer told Motorsport-Total. “He was too reserved, and his attack on Norris was pretty hopeless.”

Oscar Piastri will regret only having one serious attempt at overtaking Lando Norris

Race engineer Tom Stallard had to warn Piastri about McLaren’s papaya rules after his lunge under braking for Turn 1 almost saw the Melbourne native spin Norris out of the lead of the Hungarian GP. It was not the first time that Piastri has tested the limits behind Norris, either.

His dangerous dive at the Hungaroring echoed Piastri’s lock-up trying to overtake Norris for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix in June. Like in Hungary, Stallard warned Piastri that the Australian had cut it too close at the Red Bull Ring – which the 24-year-old agreed was true.

Piastri admitted his failed attempt to overtake Norris in Hungary was never on, as well, after accepting he was a few too many tenths of a second behind the Briton to try a cleaner pass. But he did not want to miss his chance to threaten a move just for one to never materialise.

A margin of 0.658s separated Norris in the lead of the Hungarian GP from Piastri in P2 at the start of the penultimate lap last Sunday. DRS would drag the Melbourne native closer to the Bristol-born driver, but it was still not enough. Norris also started the final lap 0.749s ahead.

Victory in Budapest also means Norris hits the summer break just nine points behind Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship. The papaya pals are also more than three Grand Prix wins clear of Max Verstappen atop the standings, with the Red Bull ace 97 and 88 points behind.