Saturday’s qualifying saw Charles Leclerc take pole by a fine margin of 0.026 seconds. He was ahead of championship leader Oscar Piastri and his teammate, Lando Norris.
All of the top 10 drivers opted to start on the medium compound tyres. Hamilton in 12th started on the hard compound alongside Gasly in 16th. Sainz in 13th, Hulkenberg in 18th, and Albon in 19th started on soft compound tyres, suggesting an early pit window.
It’s Time For Lights Out
Leclerc got a good start ahead of Piastri, but Norris lost two places in the first corner. Norris had attempted to go to the inside of his teammate. After Lap 1, Leclerc held on to his lead by 0.6 seconds. On Lap 3, Norris was in DRS range of Alonso and managed to gain a place back. This took him up to 4th.
Rookie driver Bortoleto was noted for a false start by Lap four. This could have been detrimental to his race; however, he was in 6th place while defending from Verstappen. Fortunately, by Lap 8, Bortoleto was cleared of any further investigation.
As Lap 6 started, Leclerc had made a gap of almost 3 seconds over Piastri. Hulkenberg was also noted for a false start, which led to both Sauber drivers being investigated by the stewards. As Lap 10 approached, Norris was finally in DRS range of Russell, getting into position for an overtake.
Penalty For Hulkenberg
By the end of Lap 10, the investigation into Hulkenberg ended, and resulted in him receiving a five-second time penalty.
Norris was still unable to pass Russell by Lap 12. The gap between the McLaren and the Mercedes had been 0.696 seconds. Norris then found himself completely out of DRS range by Lap 14.
By Lap 17, Norris finally made it back into DRS range of Russell. Meanwhile, Piastri closed the gap between himself and Leclerc.
The Top 10 Start to Pit
Verstappen was the first driver from the top 10 to make a stop. He emerged from the pit lane on hard tyres in 16th. One lap later, Piastri was told to come in for new tyres. This was in an attempt to overtake Leclerc through the stops. Ferrari responded to McLaren’s pit stop and put Leclerc on hard compound tyres. Leclerc remained ahead of Piastri.
Lap 22 saw Piastri pass Alonso’s Aston Martin with ease, allowing him to regain some positions. After the initial pit window for the top 10, Norris led Leclerc by 11.5 seconds. However, Norris lost one second per lap on his older tyres. Russell passed Alonso on Lap 26 and gained 4th place. On Lap 29, Norris confirmed he was happy with having done a one-stop pit strategy. This could have had a big impact on his race.
Leclerc exclaimed, “We are going to lose this race with these things.” He felt he was losing a lot of time to the McLarens.
Verstappen and Hamilton Almost Make Contact
Verstappen and Hamilton almost made contact on Lap 30. Consequently, Hamilton went wide, allowing Verstappen to overtake him for 11th place. The stewards later noted this incident and investigated it after the race.
Clean Air and Tyre Swaps
Norris made his pit stop at the end of Lap 31 with an impressive stop time of 1.9 seconds. He re-emerged in 4th place, 18.9 seconds off the lead. As they came up to half race distance, Leclerc picked up the pace. He pulled 1.7 seconds ahead of Piastri. Norris set a new fastest lap of the race on his fresh hard tyres. He was within 9 seconds of Russell in 3rd.
Leclerc made a stop on Lap 41 to pit from the lead. He emerged in 4th place and 7 seconds behind Norris. The Brit was trying to make the move on Russell for third, which he needed to do quickly if he was going to make the one-stop strategy work. Hamilton pitted from 9th for medium tyres. He re-joined the track in 16th.
On Lap 44, Russell pitted, allowing Norris to drive in clean air. On Lap 46, Piastri pitted from the lead with another outstanding stop time of 1.9 seconds from McLaren. Piastri emerged 6 seconds behind Leclerc and 12 seconds behind Norris. Piastri started to close the gap to Leclerc rapidly on Lap 49, meaning he could have been in striking distance soon.
Issues for Bearman
Bearman, who was running in 16th, was the first and only driver to retire from the Hungarian Grand Prix. He arrived in the pit lane to retire the car. Leclerc was passed by Piastri on Lap 51 for 2nd. Piastri was then 8.5 seconds behind the leader, Lando Norris. Traffic started to compromise Norris’s lead, bringing the gap between him and his teammate Piastri down to 6.3 seconds.
A few laps later, the gap between the McLaren teammates had been down to 5 seconds. Russell started to close in on Leclerc on Lap 57, promising a battle for 3rd.
Mercedes Move Into Podium Position
Piastri kept closing in on his teammate, bringing the gap down to just 3.5 seconds. Russell attempted to make a move on Leclerc at the start of Lap 61, but managed to pass him on Lap 62 at turn one!
Lap 63, Norris was only 1.5 seconds ahead of Piastri, saying that the upcoming traffic was “going to ruin my race“. Russell reported a few drops of rain falling over the circuit. However, the weather did not develop.
Leclerc Under Investigation
Leclerc was now under investigation by the stewards for his earlier incident with Russell on Lap 62.
Lap 65, Piastri was in DRS range of Norris, preparing for an overtake. Two laps to go, Piastri locked up into turn one, almost making contact with Norris. The Brit managed to cover Piastri into turn one, maintaining his lead. Leclerc received a 5-second time penalty on the last lap. He was penalised for driving erratically in the incident with Russell.
Norris makes this win McLaren’s 200th win in Formula One. He was joined on the podium by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in 2nd and the Mercedes of George Russell in 3rd.
A very pleasing end before the summer break for the McLarens.