Oscar Piastri took his first Grand Prix victory at the 35th attempt – but it was tense afternoon for the Australian as he waited for McLaren team mate Lando Norris to hand back the lead, which he'd lost as a result of pit stop strategy.
While McLaren had their best result since Monza 2021, others left Budapest pondering what might have been. Lawrence Barretto picks out his winners and losers from an enthralling Hungarian Grand Prix...
Winner: Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri has had a few near misses of late – but he was not to be denied in Hungary as an excellent getaway to snatch the lead opened the gateway to secure his first Grand Prix win.
The Australian, 23, is the first race winner born in the 21st century, the fifth Australian to stand on F1’s top step and the 115th driver to win a World Championship Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Piastri admits McLaren team orders made him ‘a bit nervous’ as he reflects on ‘very special’ maiden win in Hungary
This was his third podium in six races and second top-two Grand Prix finish in the last three events. He’s now just five points behind Carlos Sainz in the fight for P4 in the drivers’ standings.
Loser: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen is on his bumpiest run since the opening three races of the 2021 campaign, the Dutchman scoring a brace of fifth places to sit alongside a second place at Silverstone.
His contact with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1 was his second collision in three events (he collided with Lando Norris in Austria when fighting for the lead) and extends his winless run to three Grands Prix.
READ MORE: ‘I want things to be done better’ fumes Verstappen after Hungarian GP as he admits Red Bull now behind McLaren
His championship lead has been cut to 76 points and while that is still substantial (it’s the equivalent of three Grand Prix wins), the momentum isn’t with him as he heads to one of his home races at Spa.
Winners: McLaren
There may have been a lot of tension on the pit wall, as McLaren pleaded with Norris to comply with a team order to hand Piastri back the lead he lost through strategy – but on leaving Budapest, they can reflect on a weekend where they converted a first front row lockout in more than a decade into a one-two finish as a job well done.
This was McLaren’s 49th one-two finish and only their second in the last 14 years – and extended their run of successive podiums to nine events.
HIGHLIGHTS: Enjoy the action from a controversial Hungarian GP as Piastri claims maiden F1 victory
They deservedly leapfrogged Ferrari into second in the constructors’ championship and are now just 51 points behind leaders Red Bull. The title fight is well and truly on.
Losers: Red Bull
Part of the reason why there has been so much speculation about Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull is because his lack of form is putting the team’s constructors’ title defence in serious jeopardy.
Yes, the Mexican recovered from another Q1 exit to take seventh in Budapest, but a significantly better result is expected of Perez – especially on a weekend where Verstappen could only manage fifth.
After 13 races last year, Red Bull had amassed 540 points and had more than double the number of the next best team. This year, the momentum is against them and their lead is just 51 with 11 Grands Prix to go.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton looks like he’s loving Formula 1 again, the seven-time world champion following up his first victory since 2021 last time out at Silverstone with a superb drive to third at the Hungaroring.
He is the first driver in history to reach 200 career podiums (Michael Schumacher is second on 155) with P3 his 12th podium at the Hungarian venue.
FACTS AND STATS: Hamilton hits 200 podiums as Piastri becomes first winner born this century
It is also the first time he has been on the podium in consecutive races since Spain and Canada in 2023. The result also moved him ahead of team mate George Russell and Perez in the drivers’ standings.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed one of the smoothest weekends of 2024 as he qualified ninth, one place ahead of team mate Yuki Tsunoda, having topped the first segment of qualifying in changeable conditions.
However, his race was over after just a few laps when the team pitted him very early, bringing him back out into traffic and ending all hopes of recovering to the points.
The Australian was understandably frustrated as it came at a time when he knows a string of good performances could not just ensure he stays in the Red Bull family with RB into next year – but also put him in contention for promotion to the senior team if they drop Perez.
READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day in Hungary
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda recovered from a crash in qualifying to reward his mechanics who worked hard to rebuild his car with a superb points finish in ninth.
The Japanese driver used impressive tyre management to become the only one to make a one-stop work and thus opened the door to secure his second successive points finish and seventh of the season.
Those couple of points helped RB stretch their lead over Haas to six in the fight for P6 in the constructors’ championship.
Losers: Alpine
This was a painful weekend for Alpine, who were the two slowest cars in qualifying for the first time since the opening race in Bahrain after some operational issues.
READ MORE: McLaren boss Stella insists he’d be ‘extremely worried’ if Norris hadn't questioned team order to let Piastri past
Things didn’t get any better in the race, with Pierre Gasly retiring when in contention for points while Esteban Ocon saw the chequered flag in a lowly 18th.
It yielded their second successive race weekend without a points finish. Suddenly the momentum they built across Monaco, Canada, Spain and Austria seems to be dissipating.
Winner: Lando Norris
Sure Lando Norris will be upset at being asked to yield the lead of the Grand Prix – and thus lose seven points that could be crucial if his title challenge starts to build momentum – but in playing the team game, it has only served to enhance his title credentials.
Norris still cut Verstappen’s lead by finishing second to Verstappen’s fifth – which was incidentally his fourth podium in five races – and will know that if he needs Piastri’s help later in the season to fight Verstappen for the title, he will get it.
READ MORE: ‘I know what Oscar’s done for me’ – Norris gives his take on ‘tough’ moment he let Piastri past in Hungary
A McLaren team that is operating as a one unit is the most effective way to beat Verstappen this year, both for the drivers’ and constructors’ championship – something that won’t be lost on the Briton.
Loser: Sergio Perez
On a track where overtaking is so tricky, Perez was always going to have his work cut out to score points from 16th on the grid – but the Mexican did a decent job to recover to seventh.
Nonetheless, on a weekend where Verstappen struggled, it was a missed opportunity for Perez to prove his worth to Red Bull.
He has now gone seven Grands Prix without a top-six finish. Norris scored more points in Hungary than Perez has managed in the last six events combined. He will hope the next race at Spa will mark a turnaround in his fortunes.
READ MORE: Ferrari performance ‘not where we want it to be’ says Leclerc after P4 in Hungary
