As I sit down to write this blog nearly 12 hours after the race has ended ; there are so many things which I cannot still decipher as a fan . From McLaren undercutting Oscar to then pleading Lando to give P1 back to Oscar to the usual Max-Lewis drama , this race has thrown up a lot of talking points , so lets get right into them
THE START
In line with recent races, the start of yesterday's race was pivotal once more. Norris attempted a move similar to what he did to Max in Spain last month, but the driver in second position held his ground. As a result, Oscar led into Turn 1, with Verstappen momentarily dropping to second after going wide on the outside. Verstappen later conceded the position to Norris on lap 4 to prevent any scrutiny from the stewards. The top five consisted of Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Leclerc in that order.
THE PITSTOP PHASE
During the first round of pitstops, the main change occurred when RedBull decided to keep Max out longer, causing him to lose a position in an attempt to create a tire advantage on a track where track position is crucial. The real action unfolded during the second round of pitstops, which began with Hamilton pitting on lap 40, followed by Leclerc.
At that moment, Lando was comfortably 9.8 seconds ahead of Hamilton, well beyond any undercut threat. It would seem logical to pit Oscar first, given that he was leading the race and should have priority in terms of strategy. However, McLaren waited 5 laps before bringing Norris in on lap 45, despite his 24-second gap to Hamilton (the average pitstop time at this track being 20 seconds).
McLaren eventually pitted Oscar 2 laps later, but Norris had already taken the lead by then. Oscar's wide turn at 11 on his outlap further extended Norris's lead to approximately 3 seconds. McLaren had to then persuade Lando to relinquish the lead to Oscar to rectify their strategic blunders, resulting in some remarkable radio communications.
"Remember, every single Sunday morning meeting we have"
"The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it's with a team. you'll need Oscar, you'll need the team"
On lap 68 Norris slowed down on the main straight giving up a 6 second lead and Piastri went into the lead. And while it looked like the Briton may continue to challenge for the lead, it was the Australian who ultimately crossed the line to take to his debut Grand Prix victory in Formula 1, more than two seconds ahead in the end.
REDBULL TROUBLES
Max Verstappen started P3 on the grid and was P2 into Turn 2 having overtaken Lando offtrack being on the outside , but he gave back that position on lap 5. Then in the first round of pitstops , he was bizarrely kept out by Redbull which allowed Hamilton to get ahead of him. They did the same thing again for the 2nd round of stops which allowed Leclerc to get ahead. He did manage to overtake Leclerc for P4 but then the race went bad for him when he tried to make the move on Hamilton for P3 making a lunge down the inside but went into the air. The radio exchange with his race engineer GP after this was funny to say the least
"He moved under braking"
"I'm not getting into this on the radio, it's childish"
This is turning into a tougher season than what Redbull and Max expected to be and frustrations are starting to boil over slightly. Max will be hoping the team and car is back to their usual best at Spa which is one of Max's favorite tracks . He still leads the championship by 76 points but now with McLaren the fastest car on balance , he will have a fight on his hands for the remainder of the seasons.
OTHER NOTABLE POINTS
Charles Leclerc put in an impressive performance, moving up from P7 to P4, surpassing expectations for Ferrari and having a solid weekend for the first time since Spain
Hamilton once again demonstrated his skill at the Hungaroring, finishing a strong race in P3 and becoming the first person in the sport's history to achieve 200 podium finishes, a truly remarkable feat
Following his crash in Q3 on Saturday, Yuki Tsunoda recovered to execute a one-stop strategy on Sunday, securing valuable points for the VCARB team
Prior to concluding this article, I want to highlight the unprofessional and biased commentary by Sky Sports on race day. David Croft suggested that Max's poor performance was due to staying up late for a virtual race, despite having done the same at Imola. Nico Rosberg expressed his disappointment in Max's late-night activities. These remarks cast a negative light on individuals and leave a negative impression.
Good article