Lando Norris rages as McLaren team orders gift Hungary GP victory to Oscar Piastri

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Oscar Piastri earned his first win in Formula 1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix in a thrilling finish, with Lando Norris ultimately giving in to McLaren's team instructions.

Norris, who began in first position, was overtaken by his teammate Piastri at the first corner of the opening lap. Max Verstappen also passed Norris, but he did so by going off the track.

Although Norris was able to reclaim second place from Verstappen, Piastri maintained the lead for most of the race, until the second round of pit stops. It was during this time that Norris overtook Piastri and widened the gap to around six seconds.

Nonetheless, McLaren was adamant that Norris relinquish first place to Piastri. Despite receiving strong words from his engineer Will Joseph, Norris refused as the race approached its conclusion.

Joseph said: “I believe in your ability to make the correct decision. Lando, with only 10 laps left, keep in mind all of the Sunday meetings we've had together.

"You have demonstrated your stance. We issue commands for the benefit of the team. I assure you that I am making an effort to keep you safe."

After a few more laps, Norris finally gave in and let Piastri overtake him, which led to the Australian winning his first grand prix race.

Norris was angry under his helmet when he allowed his teammate to pass him. He said to his engineer, "There's no need for you to speak."

After the race, Norris was questioned about the team's instructions. He calmly responded, "I followed the team's orders, that's all there is to it."

It was a fantastic day for our team, and I'm thrilled. We have come a long way together. Congratulations to Oscar, he worked hard for this victory and it was well deserved.

Piastri remarked: "Today has been truly extraordinary. It's been a dream come true for me since I was a child. Although it got a bit tricky towards the end, our car performed excellently in all conditions and we were able to keep it under control."

"If you wait too long to switch positions, you start to feel anxious. The team did a great job executing the change and it was the right decision."

It marked McLaren's first time finishing in the top two spots since the race in Italy in 2021, where Norris came in second behind Daniel Ricciardo in Monza.

Lewis Hamilton came in third place after a late collision with Verstappen. The Red Bull driver, who was angry over the team radio during most of the race, ended up in fifth place.

Norris reported an issue with his throttle while driving to the starting grid, causing his mechanics to work quickly to fix the problem before the race started.

Norris was ready at the beginning of the race, but when the race started, he quickly fell back in the standings. He made a bold move to the right to block Piastri, which gave Verstappen the opportunity to take the lead without any obstacles.

When the three drivers hit the brakes for the first turn, they were all close together. Piastri took the inside line and moved into first place, while Verstappen went off the track. He re-entered in second place, with Norris urgently calling on the stewards to do something about it.

The situation was quickly being looked into and the Red Bull team instructed Verstappen to return the position to Norris, which he promptly did on the fourth lap.

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Norris and Piastri both went into the pit lane to change their tires on lap 17 and lap 18. Meanwhile, Verstappen was having issues with how his car was handling and stayed out on the track until lap 21, which caused him to drop to fourth place behind Hamilton.

During lap 35, Verstappen tried to overtake Hamilton again but he went off track. Verstappen expressed frustration, saying, "The car just doesn't turn properly. It's unbelievable."

On Sunday, Norris entered the race trailing Verstappen by 84 points. A victory would have significantly narrowed the gap between them.

He made his second pit stop on lap 45 to stay ahead of Hamilton, while Piastri pitted two laps later. After everything settled down, Norris came out in the lead before he was instructed by the McLaren team to maintain the current positions.

At one point, it seemed like Norris was definitely going to disobey the order, but Joseph kept asking him to switch positions many times.

"We believe in your abilities and trust that you will make the correct decision," Joseph confidently stated. "To achieve a world championship, it is vital to have a strong team supporting you, including Oscar. Your actions have shown that you are capable."

Norris began to decrease his speed on the 68th lap, allowing Piastri to take the lead as McLaren achieved their first second-place finish in almost three years.

"After being requested by the team, I took care of it as they wanted me to," Norris explained later.

Hamilton continued his winning streak by securing another top placement on the podium. Despite a strong challenge from Verstappen, Hamilton's skilled driving allowed him to maintain his position and clinch another impressive finish.

Verstappen criticized Red Bull's tactics as lousy and managed to overtake Leclerc for fourth place. However, when he tried to pass Hamilton at the start of the race, he braked too late and ended up colliding with the Mercedes driver, who he had competed against in the past.

Hamilton remained in third place, while Verstappen fell behind Leclerc and is now in fifth. Verstappen is now 76 points ahead of Norris as they head into the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix.

More information was provided by PA during the reporting of this blog.