RACE REPORT | F1 Hungary 2025

Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix after holding off his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in a close battle at the end, securing a one-two finish for the team.

The Hungarian Grand Prix took place under heavy clouds but without any rainfall, setting the stage for the final race before Formula 1’s summer break. Charles Leclerc started from pole position with the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris just behind.

Leclerc made a clean getaway to hold the lead. Piastri stayed second, but Norris lost out at the start. He attempted to challenge his teammate but ended up squeezed and was overtaken by George Russell and Fernando Alonso, dropping from third to fifth. Max Verstappen also lost ground, falling to ninth. Lewis Hamilton dropped two positions from twelfth to fourteenth.

On lap 3, with DRS enabled, Norris began to recover and passed Alonso for fourth. Verstappen moved past Lance Stroll soon after. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were both noted for possible jump starts. Bortoleto was cleared, but Hulkenberg was handed a five-second penalty after an early stop for medium tyres.

Isack Hadjar had a rough moment after running wide and kicking up gravel, reporting severe pain in his hand over team radio, probably from contact of the stones with his fingers.

Leclerc led by three seconds from Piastri after ten laps. Russell held third, but Norris was close behind. A long DRS train formed behind Alonso in fifth, with Hamilton stuck in the middle and commenting on how hard it was to make progress.

By lap 15, several midfield drivers including Colapinto, Albon, Ocon and Sainz pitted early, pointing toward a two-stop strategy. At the front, Piastri was told to push and prepare for an undercut. He pitted on lap 19 and rejoined behind Alonso. Verstappen also stopped and came out in sixteenth.

Leclerc responded the next lap and came out just ahead of Piastri. Norris stayed out longer and took over the lead. His engineer noted that the clear air behind could allow him to extend his stint. Verstappen remained stuck behind traffic and struggled to make progress.

On Lap 30, Verstappen found a way past Hamilton at Turn 4 whilst the Briton ran wide in a bit of a bizzare incident. He then made quick work of Hadjar before taking ninth when Bearman pitted.

Russell eventually passed Alonso after a close moment into Turn 1. Norris’s lead peaked at around five seconds. On lap 32, he made his pit stop and came out behind Russell and ahead of Alonso, with 38 laps to complete on hard tyres.

Leclerc and Piastri moved back up as others stopped. Leclerc boxed on lap 41 and rejoined behind Norris. Piastri followed on lap 46 and came out third, 12 seconds behind Leclerc. Verstappen was running fifth and was told he would not stop again.

On lap 49, Bearman was told to retire his Haas after reporting 'damaged car' on the radio, to which his engineer replied that his rear is severely damaged and has 15% less air balance than expected. He was the only DNF of the race.

As the second stint developed, Piastri closed in on Leclerc and passed him into Turn 1 with a clean move. He quickly began reducing the gap to Norris, taking over a second per lap at times. With 15 laps to go, the lead was down to six seconds.

Russell closed in on Leclerc and overtook him on lap 62, though Leclerc defended hard and made contact. The stewards handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for erratic driving, while Pierre Gasly received a 10 second penalty for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz.

Piastri caught Norris in the final laps and pressured him for the lead. On the penultimate lap, he made a move into Turn 1 but locked up and backed out to avoid contact. McLaren reminded him to race cleanly. He tried again on the final lap but could not find a way past.

Norris held on to win by just under seven tenths of a second, with Piastri finishing second. Russell completed the podium. Leclerc came home fourth despite the penalty. Alonso finished fifth, followed by Bortoleto, Stroll, Lawson, Verstappen and Antonelli.

Race results: