Piastri takes his first F1 victory at the action-packed 2024 Hungarian GP

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri drove to victory on Sunday at the Hungarian Grand Prix, round 13 of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

His McLaren colleague Lando Norris finished second, two seconds behind, after relinquishing the lead to Piastri on team orders. Third place went to Mercedes-Benz AMG’s Lewis Hamilton, almost 15 seconds behind the winner.

Norris started the race at the Hungaroring from pole position and was joined by Piastri at the front of the grid. Behind them were reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing along with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari. Norris, Piastri and Verstappen were almost side by side as they entered the first corner. Piastri emerged as the leader and Verstappen went off the track but rejoined ahead of Norris. Verstappen later returned to position to avoid a potential penalty.

Piastri led for much of the race from then on, but when Norris pitted first during the second round of stops, apparently to protect himself from an attack from Hamilton, he came out ahead of his teammate. This led to team orders for Norris to hand the lead back to Piastri, which he eventually did with two laps to go.

Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 – Photo via Mercedes-Benz

This allowed Piastri to cross the finish line without any problems and take his first Grand Prix victory. The young Australian has already won a sprint race before, at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari in Hungary, while Verstappen dropped to fifth after surviving a collision with Hamilton in the closing stages. Both drivers were battling for third place, but at Turn 1 both of Verstappen’s front wheels locked and Hamilton’s front tyre clipped the rear tyre of Verstappen’s car, which tipped upwards but was able to continue despite the heavy landing. Despite indications that Hamilton had skidded under braking, race officials judged that no further action would be taken.

After this weekend’s races, Verstappen still leads the 2024 Drivers’ Championship with 265 points. Norris is second with 189 points and Leclerc is third with 162 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 389 points. McLaren is second with 338 points and Ferrari is third with 322 points.

The next race on the calendar is the Belgian Grand Prix, scheduled for this weekend.

Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 – Photo via Mercedes-Benz

Results of the 2024 Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix:

1) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
2) Lando Norris, McLaren +2.141 seconds
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +14.880 seconds
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +19.686 seconds
5) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +21.349 seconds
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +23.073 seconds
7) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +39.792 seconds
8) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +42.368 seconds
9) Yuki Tsunoda, RB +1 round
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 lap
11) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1 lap
12) Daniel Ricciardo, RB +1 round
13) Nico Hülkenberg, Haas +1 lap
14) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 round
15) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
16) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +1 lap
17) Logan Sargeant, Williams +1 round
18) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1 lap
19) Zhou Guanyu, Clean +1 round
NC) Pierre Gasly, Alpine – DNF