One-stop tactics secure McLaren’s 200th win in Hungary

In a race defined by contrasting pitstop strategies, Lando Norris secured McLaren’s landmark 200th win with a smart one-stop approach, holding off Oscar Piastri’s late charge as Charles Leclerc’s pursuit from pole position cracked under pressure.

It was a hungry pack of drivers that charged into the first braking zone at the Hungaroring, all desperate to feast on positions as the five lights went out.

Launching from pole position, Leclerc steered his Ferrari clear of the shifting order behind him as he held onto the lead of the race, dragging Piastri along with him while the second-running McLaren crumbled under the first lap pressure.

Norris lost two positions after attempting a bold move switch across the start straight, with George Russell and Fernando Alonso each taking turns in demoting the #4 on the opening lap. 

Lewis Hamilton also lost two places on the opening lap, the out-of-position Ferrari driver struggling to fire up his hard tyres as both his predecessor and successor breezed past on softer compounds.

It looked as if Max Verstappen would follow that trend after he was passed by Liam Lawson through the first corner, though the Red Bull driver quickly bounced back, recovering P8 from the Kiwi and snatching P7 from Lance Stroll after three laps of racing.

From there, however, the race settled into a quieter rhythm until the first round of pit stops commenced.

Following the back-markers’ lead, Verstappen was the first top ten contender to relinquish his medium compound tyres in favour of the hard compound, while the race leaders spent an extra lap out on track before Piastri was called in to “box to overtake”.

Leclerc responded to the attempted undercut just 4.38km later, pushing the limits of the pit entry as he locked up on his 19-lap-old medium tyres — a necessary stretch which helped the Ferrari driver maintain a one-second edge over Piastri as he exited the pitlane.

It was during these stops that half of the field revealed their plans of conducting a one-stop race, including Norris, whose strategic call revived his race-winning odds by remaining on track until Lap 31. 

Despite locking up into the first turn, Leclerc was able to increase the interval with a helping hand from Alonso, with the Aston Martin driver soon getting caught in the middle of the Ferrari vs McLaren battle to blow the margin out to two seconds.

The positives soon slipped away from the Monegasque as the Ferrari radio waves flooded with the first of many cryptic messages throughout the 70-lap race, with the #16 saying: “I can feel what we discussed before the race. We need to discuss those things, before doing them!”.

Predicting his unfortunate fate, Leclerc added: “We are going to lose this race like this.”

The second Ferrari wasn’t having much fun either after finding himself stuck in a tight midfield battle, Hamilton’s woes compounded when Verstappen appeared in his mirrors on fresh tyres.

The 2021 title rivals lapped within three-tenths of one another until their duel came to a climax at Turn 4, with Verstappen attempting to barge his way down the inside of Hamilton before the Ferrari driver was forced to take evasive action on the run-off area while losing P11 to the #1.

The incident was noted by the stewards before being placed under post-race investigation — their decision ultimately being “no further action”.

The race reached the halfway mark on Lap 35, with Leclerc’s race leading margin sitting at 1.9 seconds over Piastri, while Russell trailed in third place as the discussion surrounding second stops approached. 

Questioning whether Piastri’s priorities lay with outpacing Leclerc or his McLaren teammate, the championship leader opted to focus on outscoring his championship rival, meaning clear air would be key in building a pit window to Norris.

As a result, the McLaren pit wall faked the Ferrari pit wall out with a message calling the Australian in, fooling the Italian outfit into pitting Leclerc at an unconventional stage of the race on Lap 40.

After instantly being overtaken by Piastri after the #81 completed his second stop ten laps later, Leclerc jumped back on the radio to vent his frustrations.

“This is just so frustrating! We have lost all competitive pace,” the #16 yelled. 

“You just have to listen to me, and I would’ve found a way to manage those issues. Now it’s just undriveable. It’s a miracle if we finish on the podium.”

Speaking to the media after the chequered flag, Leclerc retracted his blame against his team after learning about an issue with the chassis that struck on Lap 40, however, Russell wasn’t as convinced, admitting that Mercedes believed his issues were related to the legality of the skid plank as they detected more tyre pressure on the Ferrari to prevent the base from wearing out.

On Lap 58, the Mercedes driver had a clear view of the SF25’s mechanisms in action, coming within DRS range of Leclerc on Lap 58 before two dicey moments under braking at the first turn raised Russell’s heart rate and led to Leclerc incurring a five-second penalty for erratic driving.

Running defenceless, the #16 was relegated to fourth place, with Russell cementing the final podium position as the fight for the victory began to take shape further down the road.

Approaching a three-way battle for the final points position between Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Lewis Hamilton, the race leader started to sweat as his teammate appeared in his mirrors in synchronicity with the back markers blocking Norris’ path.

Fearing a loss of crucial time, the #4 begged the McLaren pit wall to enforce blue flags on the drivers ahead, with the experienced Ferrari driver not needing an extra reminder to step out of the way as the papaya duo breezed by on Lap 64.

On the following lap, Piastri had clawed his way into Norris’ DRS range, using the extra 20km/h of speed to forge an attack on his teammate with five laps to go.

With just six-tenths separating the duo, Piastri had his first look at an overtake into Turn 1, however, his late braking prowess wasn’t enough to dispose of his teammate on this occasion.

On the second last lap, Piastri tried once again, though he pushed too hard, almost colliding with Norris after charging down the inside of the first turn and locking up to avoid contact.

Sporting two decent flat spots and equally wounded pride when he was publicly reminded of McLaren’s rules of engagement, Piastri was forced to settle for second place as he took the chequered flag seven-tenths behind his teammate.

Norris had no notions of frustration when he crossed the line in first place, claiming McLaren’s 200th Grand Prix victory, making the Woking-based outfit only the second team to achieve such a feat in F1 history, joining Ferrari.

Norris’ haul of 25 points shrinks Piastri’s championship-leading margin back into single digits, with the Australian now heading into the three-week summer break on 284 points compared to Norris’ 275 points. 

Russell rounded out the podium positions after taking the chequered flag 15 seconds ahead of Leclerc on the track, however, with the Ferrari driver’s penalty applied, the margin blew out to over 20 seconds. 

It was a strong outing for Aston Martin with its veteran driver holding onto his starting position, while Lance Stroll traded places with the standout performer, Gabriel Bortoleto, who achieved a third points finish in four races. 

Lawson was a roadblock through to the very end for Verstappen, defending from the reigning world champion for the final 20 laps to well and truly deserve a points finish in P8, leaving the Dutchman in P9 as the race came to a close.

Rounding out the top ten, Antonelli was also able to defend his position in the dying stages of the race, crossing the finish line just eight-tenths ahead of Isack Hadjar to score his first points finish since claiming his maiden podium in Canada.

As the Formula 1 summer break officially begins, drivers will take a mandatory pause to reflect on the highs and lows of the first half of the season, before the championship resumes in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Grand Prix will take place from August 29-31, with Verstappen counting on the home crowd to help him rediscover his winning form.

Image: FIA

Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results:

2025 Hungarian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, August 01:

Free Practice 1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, August 02:

Free Practice 2: 01:00 – 02:00

Free Practice 3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, August 03: 

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here.