Zak Brown shares how Oscar Piastri reacted as soon as he got out of his McLaren after the Hungarian Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren had to watch on as their two drivers went to battle once more during the 2025 Formula 1 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After adopting an ambitious one-stop strategy, Lando Norris had to defend from Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the race to earn a third win in the last four events.

However, the two McLaren drivers got very close to each other when Piastri attempted a late dive into turn one on the penultimate lap. After locking up both front tyres in spectacular fashion, he avoided Norris by mere inches.

It means the gap at the top of the drivers’ championship is now just nine points heading into the summer break.

McLaren made Norris and Piastri ‘understand’ that they’re playing a team game in 2025, believes Martin Brundle. They’re constantly learning on the job.

After a tough few races down at Red Bull, Oscar Piastri now agrees with Max Verstappen and believes that it will be a two-horse race for the title. McLaren are simply too strong.

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

Zak Brown says Oscar Piastri reacted positively after finishing second at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Although Norris has won three of the last four races, it hasn’t been enough for him to snatch the lead of the championship.

Piastri missed his ‘best chance’ to overtake Norris when the Briton failed to crack under pressure. A mistake was the only way by.

Speaking after the race, McLaren boss Zak Brown shared how Piastri reacted after getting out of his car, fresh from finishing in second place again.

“I don’t think so. We were talking to him on the radio to kind of give him the choice. Do you want to race Lando or race Charles? He wanted to race Lando, which is understandable,” he told Sky Sports F1, (03/08, 4.08pm)

“You just had two different strategies there that converged, and it couldn’t have been closer, right? Oscar was faster there at the end, just couldn’t get by.

“I spoke with him as soon as he got out of the car, and unlike Silverstone, when he was obviously disappointed that he didn’t win, I think here he knows that everyone gave it their best shot, and that’s just kind of how the chips fell.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris makes ‘tough’ Oscar Piastri remark immediately after epic Hungarian Grand Prix battle

Why Charles Leclerc won’t rule Lando Norris out of winning the 2025 F1 title

14 races into a mega 24-race Formula 1 season, and it’s already pretty clear that there will be a new champion in 2025.

Now the question is which McLaren driver the honour ends up going to. Over the course of the season, Piastri has edged affairs, which is why he leads the race.

Without crashing in Canada, Norris might be ahead, but that mistake was a reflection of something he had to learn from. It’s a long season.

Charles Leclerc won’t ‘rule out’ Norris winning as he believes that the title could be there for the taking if he brings everything together.

However, momentum could easily swing again after the drivers have taken a four-week break from racing affairs in August to wind down and catch up on some much-needed rest.