Hungary Grand Prix 2025: Race Review

After an unpredictable Qualifying session, the Hungarian Grand Prix established itself to be a test of strategy, patience, and wit, with frontrunners Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri opting for a ‘favorable’ two-stop strategy, which proved catastrophic.

While Norris got underway badly – depleting his starting position to P5 – undertaking a risk with a one-stop strategy ultimately earnt him the reward, diminishing his teammate’s drivers’ championship lead to just 9-points ahead of the summer break.

Key Moments

After a surprising Qualifying pole position for Charles Leclerc – making it the first for Ferrari this season – the Monegasque driver made the most of the unexpected, charging ahead of the pack and running away with the lead.

This left Oscar Piastri to target his sights on Leclerc’s rear wing, while teammate Lando Norris faltered to P5 after losing position places to George Russell and Fernando Alonso respectively.

While Norris was able to overtake Alonso in Lap 3, such sentiments were not reciprocated so easily with fellow British driver George Russell, who continued to defend well against the McLaren firmly in his rearview.

Consequently – under Papaya orders – Piastri was granted the ‘preferable’ McLaren strategy, pitting for hard tyres during Lap 19 under a two-stop strategy. This prompted Leclerc to do the same just one lap later, managing to keep ahead of Piastri in the process.

As Norris could no longer operate effectively under the same two-stop strategy in his position, McLaren opted for a desperately measured one-stop strategy alternative, which would see him stay out on hard tyres for just under 40 laps.

While not expected to perform quite as well, Norris’ elected one-stop strategy soon proved itself favorable, with the British driver slowly gaining the advantage over Piastri.

By Lap 40, Piastri was commanded to box to overtake Leclerc; a command that was ignored in favor of defending his delta advantage over Norris, wisely considering his drivers’ championship lead.

While the question of whether team radio should be broadcast publicly during the Grand Prix is often widely considered, doing so, in this instance, aided McLaren, with Leclerc pitting just one lap later to complete his own two-stop strategy, under the whip of Ferrari’s chaotic racing agenda.

Sadly for Leclerc, his dream start was not built to last, negatively denoting to his team that “[it would be] a miracle if we finish on the podium” despite still being 1.6 seconds ahead of championship leader Oscar Piastri at the point of broadcast.

The same defeated sentiments were shared by teammate Lewis Hamilton, gut-wrenchingly stating “I am useless, just absolutely useless” after yet another poor Qualifying session the day prior.

While it is not abnormal for Ferrari to negatively and emotionally affect their driver lineups, seeing such disheartening communication from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton feels like the loss of a dying star that had so much bright light left to shine.

With so much potential, will the constructors ever get to the bottom of their woes, before it is too late to truly turn things around?

Pitting for his second and final set of hard compound tyres during Lap 46, Piastri was able to smoothly sail past Leclrec just a few laps later, simultaneously maintaining a crucial 12-second gap between himself and Norris.

The final blow came for Charlec Leclerc in Lap 62, with George Russell overtaking into P3 position. Battling close to the wire, the Monegasque driver ultimately saw himself finish his race with a 5-second time penalty for moving into the Mercedes under breaking.

While this left petrol in the mouth of Leclerc, Russell was able to taste the sweet nectar of champagne, securing the final podium position of the Hungarian Grand Prix, and his sixth of the season thus far.

During the closing stages, fans eagerly watched on as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battled it out for precious points. While the Australian got up-close-and-personal on a few occasions, his best chance – during the penultimate lap – saw him uncharacteristically lock-up after breaking late, securing his fate in P2 position.

With Piastri still on his rear wheel – just 0.698 seconds behind – Lando Norris was conclusively able to bring home a decisively divisive 25-points, reducing the championship lead and entering the summer break on a drivers’ high.

Hungarian Grand Prix 2025: Final Thoughts

While George Russell continues to outshine the rest of the pack beyond the McLaren helm – standing alongside those in Papaya on podium more than any other driver or team this season – the fact remains that the British driver is still without a contract for 2026.

Gaining both the fastest lap and the third podium position at the Hungary Grand Prix solidifies his status as a leading driver. As such, will Toto Wolff finally be enticed put his money where his mouth is, as contract discussions remain ongoing?

With Max Verstappen’s future now solidified at Red Bull, I do not understand why Mercedes are still taking so long to announce George Russell as their driver for the 2026 season.

Rumor has it that Russell is trying to get the best deal possible – and rightly so – but I would surely expect these terms to be negotiated in full during the summer break, with an announcement in due-course.

Elsewhere, post-race, it has been debated that Lando Norris was prioritised unfairly by McLaren once again.

While, I do feel that Norris got lucky with regard to strategy – as neither the team nor the British driver predicted a one-stop strategy to be the preferable choice – I do feel like Lando Norris earnt his Grand Prix win for once, defending well against Piastri and keeping a cool head when things did not initially go to plan A or B.

With this in mind, it was unusual to see a role reversal in the performances conducted by the both McLaren drivers. While Piastri primarily takes the win thanks to his ice-cool demeanor that sees Norris lock-up in fear, the opposite denoted the win at the Hungary Grand Prix.

This not only demonstrates that both drivers compliment each other, as advocated by Zac Brown numerous times throughout this season’s press, but also evidences a sense of progression that will bring a number of tightly intense internal battles, before the title race draws its conclusion.

Now just 9-points ahead – with a win that would have otherwise seen Oscar Piastri 23-points clear of the lead; the biggest margin in championship contention all season – will the summer break ultimately help or hinder the Australian’s winning stance?

The 2025 Formula One season resumes its campaign in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix in just under four weeks’ time.