How Did Norris Outpace Piastri to Claim the Hungarian GP?

Budapest, Aug 3 (NationPress) Lando Norris skillfully fended off a dramatic late-race challenge from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, as the Brit utilized a different race strategy to secure victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. This win marks his fifth of the season, significantly reducing the gap between the leading drivers in the championship standings.

At the start, polesitter Charles Leclerc got off to a strong beginning, maintaining P1 and establishing a solid lead over Piastri in P2 during the initial laps. Despite Piastri's attempts to undercut Leclerc during the first round of pit stops, Leclerc held on to his position.

As the race unfolded, different strategies among the front runners began to impact the outcome. Leclerc and Piastri, both on a two-stop strategy, found themselves trailing behind the one-stopping Norris in the latter stages.

Leclerc's pace waned as the laps progressed, while Piastri accelerated towards Norris, leading to an exhilarating finish with Piastri closely pursuing his teammate.

Despite several attempts, Piastri couldn't overtake Norris, who finished just 0.698 seconds ahead, clinching his fifth victory of the season. This win has narrowed Piastri's lead in the Drivers’ Championship to just nine points as they head into the summer break.

With this victory, Norris accumulated 275 points, closing the gap to Piastri's 284 points. Max Verstappen trails in third place with 187 points.

George Russell secured third place for Mercedes after overtaking a struggling Leclerc, who finished fourth. Leclerc's day was further marred by a five-second time penalty for erratic driving against Russell.

Fernando Alonso drove well to clinch fifth for Aston Martin, contributing to a valuable points finish for the team, while Lance Stroll came in seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto from Kick Sauber impressed again, finishing in sixth.

Liam Lawson took eighth for Racing Bulls, followed by Max Verstappen in ninth, who had a challenging race day but avoided penalties after an incident with Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli completed the points in tenth for Mercedes.

In 11th place was Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls, while Lewis Hamilton faced a tough weekend, finishing in P12.

Nico Hulkenberg finished 13th for Kick Sauber, followed by the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in 14th and 15th, respectively. Esteban Ocon was the only Haas driver to finish, ending up in 16th, with Yuki Tsunoda in 17th for Red Bull.

Alpine had a tough day, with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly finishing in 18th and 19th, the latter receiving a ten-second penalty for a collision with Sainz.

Ollie Bearman could not complete the race due to damage to his Haas, forcing his retirement.