The Hungarian Grand Prix was a spectacle of drama both on and off the track, particularly for McLaren and Red Bull, though for vastly different reasons. McLaren achieved their dream of a 1-2 finish, with Oscar Piastri taking his maiden victory and Lando Norris in second. However, this triumph was tinged with controversy and left an awkward atmosphere within the team. 

Race Overview 

Norris, starting from pole position, was overtaken by his teammate Piastri at the first corner. Max Verstappen, attempting an aggressive maneuver, briefly took second place by cutting the track but was forced to yield the position back. For the majority of the race, it was a McLaren 1-2, with Piastri and Norris leading comfortably. 

McLaren’s Controversial Strategy 

McLaren’s strategy took an unusual turn when they decided to pit Norris first from his second-place position, ostensibly to protect him from Hamilton in third. In reality, Hamilton posed no real threat due to his Mercedes being off the pace compared to the McLaren. This decision allowed Norris to perform an undercut on Piastri, emerging in first place after Piastri’s pit stop a few laps later. 

Emotional Blackmail on Team Radio 

What transpired between McLaren and Norris on team radio can at best be described as “fair but cruel” and, at worst, “outright emotional blackmail.” Phrases such as: 

“OK Lando, Oscar has just pitted. He’ll likely come out just behind you. We’d like to re-establish the order.” “We do want to let Oscar through…” “I’m trying to protect you…” “We know you’ll do the right thing…” “Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we’ve had…” “The way to win a championship is not by yourself; it’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.” “Please do it. Now…” 

That’s right, they emotionally blackmailed Norris to hand over his 1st position back to Piastri, even though Norris was clearly faster throughout the final stint and had pulled an almost 6-second lead over his teammate. 

The Dilemma for Norris 

In effect, Norris was being told on the radio that he couldn’t take his second win; they wanted to give it to Oscar, and if he didn’t comply, they wouldn’t support him in the future. The “right thing” for Norris would have been to take the victory, take the heat, take an F1 race win (which is the only thing anyone remembers when all is said and done), extend his place in history, close the gap to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, and tell the team they should have pitted Piastri first if they wanted him to win so much! 

The fact that McLaren had opted to pit Norris first without real concern from Hamilton behind then led to several awkward laps where Norris was made to feel the team would not support him in the future if he didn’t give the lead back to Piastri, who at this stage of the race was struggling to keep up with Norris. 

Leadership and Arrogance 

A wonderful 1-2 finish for McLaren has ended up being overshadowed by a lack of experience of being by Andrea Stella in managing two drivers at the front. Watching in interview, Andrea shows a confidence in his leadership abilities that definitely has a strong hint of arrogance. Ultimately, racing drivers are individuals on track, and taking the view that F1 is a purely two-car team game generally ends up in pieces of carbon fibre flying everywhere. 

Verstappen’s Struggles 

On the other side of the drama was Max Verstappen, rumoured to have had a late-night SIM racing contest leaving him perhaps short on sleep. Clearly rattled by the lack of pace in his Red Bull car recently, the cool “mature” version of Max has disappeared of late, and it would seem this is well timed with things not “going his way”, finding him raging over his radio at his team for their pit stop strategy and the lack of pace in the car he is driving. 

Red Bull’s Strategic Errors 

To be fair to Max, the Red Bull pit stop strategy was flawed, and they ultimately cost him position and time on the track, and it absolutely cost him a podium position. It is fascinating to see a team that has made so many “perfect” decisions crumble and creak of late following scandals (Christian Horner sexting), inter-team power struggles (Jos Verstappen, Helmut Marko, and Horner) and their technical chief of almost 20 years leaving (Adrian Newey). 

Verstappen’s Rage and Stewards’ Leniency 

Verstappen’s level of rage showed when later on he took a late lunge up the inside of Hamilton on lap 63 (for a second time), locked up and ended up nearly taking himself and Hamilton out in the process whilst taking to the air for a moment or two. Fortunately for Hamilton, he went on unharmed to take a podium (third place) and Max was able to continue to finish 5th. The stewards later left Max unpunished, in a pattern that generally seems to show leniency towards Verstappen in a way other drivers don’t get. 

Implications for the Championship 

So, what does this mean for the championship? McLaren have built a race-winning car, and yet their star driver Norris has only been able to take one win. He has been emotionally blackmailed into handing his elusive second win to his teammate to appease a McLaren strategy that backfired in the final pitstops. How will this affect relationships within the team? They will see cracks. At this time, Norris is clearly a faster driver in full race trim than Piastri, so it makes little sense to see them trying to “share them out”. It will all end in tears for McLaren. Just like all other teams have found, it is difficult to have two totally even drivers when you have the fastest car; someone has to play second fiddle. 

Red Bull’s Future 

For Red Bull, the cracks continue to show. Max, who has only ever shown contempt towards teammates, has no wingman in Perez, who ended up starting near the back again after another qualifying disaster on Saturday. Seeing Red Bull make strategic errors during the race is rare, and is another sign of the pressure showing. Faced with the aggression of Verstappen and no doubt Horner, things could change fast. Can Max get out of his contract and move to Mercedes? Who knows? Toto Wolff has made no secret of wanting to welcome Max in to take the Lewis’ seat, not the most eloquent of moves from the Austrian. 

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