Piastri beat McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to claim his maiden grand prix victory in F1.
2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix results:
2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix report:
Piastri got a better launch from second on the grid than polesitter Norris and took the lead into Turn 1, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ran wide and rejoined the track in second, splitting the McLaren duo.
Red Bull later asked Verstappen to hand back the position to Norris, with the Dutchman reluctantly agreeing to the instructions.
Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to make a pitstop on lap 17, with Norris heading into the pits the next lap to cover his Mercedes rival .
Verstappen decided to stay out on track for longer and assumed the lead, before finally diving into the pits for hard tyres and rejoining the track seven seconds behind Hamilton in fourth.
Verstappen hunted down Hamilton over the remainder of the stint but struggled to find a way past his 2021 title rival, making a crucial mistake shortly after he made a move on lap 36.
Hamilton then dived into the pits to release Verstappen, who again stayed out longer than all his immediate rivals.
At the front, McLaren called in Norris to the pits first, which meant he managed to jump long-time leader Piastri when the Austrian finally came in for his own stop.
The Woking team duly asked Norris to hand back the position, but it wasn’t until the final three laps that the Brit finally conceded the lead – after repeated reminders over team radio.
Piastri, finally back at front, took the chequered flag to add to his sprint race victory in Qatar last year and lead a 1-2 for McLaren.
A dejected Norris took second, while Hamilton crossed the line in third after Verstappen bumped him into him at Turn 1 and briefly went airbone in another unsuccessful attempt at snatching the final spot on the podium.
The contact dropped Verstappen to fifth behind the top Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz was classified sixth in the the Ferrari, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez recovered to finish seventh. The top 10 was completed by George Russell (Mercedes), Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin).
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the only driver to retire from the race.
2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Tyre strategies
2024 F1 Hungarian GP fastest laps:
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