The final lights out for weeks to come (F1 Twitter)
I… honestly don’t know what to say.
Despite today’s action seeming typical of the season —a McLaren 1-2, another driver from a big team rounding out the podium— the energy at Hungaroring today was anything but routine. And it’s hard to pinpoint a single reason why. The entire weekend seemed cursed the moment Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton failed to make it out of Q2, wailing on the radio that he’s “useless, absolutely useless…” to the team, and that he “perhaps need[s] to be replaced.” Not words you want to hear from a seven-time world champion who had one of his best races of the season next week.
So let’s open this as it always starts: by tracing the trajectories of the pole sitter and the podium finishers.
Charles Leclerc’s race started as the mirror opposite of teammate Hamilton’s. He claimed Ferrari’s first standard‑grand prix pole of 2025, edging out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by just 0.026 seconds. Leclerc’s lap was a lightning strike, pulled from a sudden wind change at just the right moment. He seemed poised to erase the team’s losing streak, a ray of hope for the much-suffering Tifosi.
But once the lights went out, Leclerc seemed to evaporate. While he kept the McLarens behind him for a little bit, Ferrari’s strategy ghosts soon resurfaced. Which ghosts, you may ask? The usual: a two‑stop that undermined pace, tire degradation rendering the car “undrivable,” and a radio eruption accusing the team of ignoring him. He dropped to fourth, 21 seconds from the lead— a promising pole start turned into frustration. While Leclerc expressed regret for his radio outburst, the damage seems to be done. Just another cycle for Ferrari this weekend: brilliance, confusion, defeat.
Not a good race for Leclerc— or any of Ferrari (F1 Twitter)
By contrast, McLaren’s Lando Norris clinched his win in an unlikely triumph born from strategy and steel nerves. It wasn’t easy at first— a poor launch saw Norris swallowed by the pack, dropping from P3 to P5 on Lap 1. But Norris committed to his one-stop strategy while most of his rivals vied for two. It was a tricky gamble, but it kept him out front, and he defended his position with an almost occult focus in the final laps.
When the checkered flag waved, Norris had etched the slash mark under McLaren’s 200th Grand Prix win in the digital archives, his fifth victory of the season, and carved Piastri’s championship lead down to just nine points. A gamble turned exorcism—he called it “tough,” but also that it was the “perfect result.”
Lando didn’t even break the trophy this time! (F1 Twitter)
Behind Norris was his teammate, Oscar Piastri. The Australian did almost everything right. He started in P2, executed a clean launch, and stuck to the two-stop plan that should’ve given him the upper hand. That plan paid off when he cycled ahead of Leclerc after the second pit stop, seemingly sliding into the role of a prowler framed in psychological calm. The gap fell to under a second as he closed in on Norris in the final few laps.
But when he tried to slip through at Turn 1, he locked up. The tires protested. The papaya cars nearly kissed. And then it was over—Norris held. Oscar got P2. Nine points now separate them in the standings.
It’s an ironic reversal of what happened at the Hungaroring last year, if I’m being honest. As we all know, Norris claimed pole position ahead of Piastri, only to have McLaren call him in first during the second pit cycle. Then, when Piastri emerged in front, Norris’s race engineer radioed repeatedly to compel him to surrender the lead. And with three laps to go, Norris complied in a live‑mic mannequin drama that the entire sport watched unfold.
Fast‑forward to today’s edition of Budapest: no tricks, no orchestrated swapping, no 68th‑lap theatrics. Norris fell to P5 on Lap 1, endured the pack’s chaos, turned to an almost supernatural mental state on slick rubber, and survived Piastri’s undercut threat through the final hairpin. Last year’s illusion of forced camaraderie becomes this year’s vindication of Norris.
In an ironic echo of last year’s race, Piastri’s car locks up when he attempts to overtake Norris (F1 Twitter)
Rounding out our podium today is Mercedes’ George Russell. The Brit quietly played the long game while the cameras remained glued to the papaya warfare. He started fourth, briefly lost a position to Fernando Alonso’s early-launch theatre, then methodically clawed it back while Ferrari overthought themselves into chaos.
By Lap 65, Russell had Leclerc locked in his sights. The overtake was clean, unspectacular, and inevitable—exactly the kind of move George specializes in. While the McLarens danced at the edge of psychic combustion, Russell cruised into P3 like a man reading the fine print of fate. It’s his fifth podium this season, and perhaps his most effortless. Not dominant. Not dramatic. Just deliberate.
An effortless P3 for George Russell (Mercedes AMG Twitter)
On paper, this was just another McLaren one-two. But the psychic texture of this race said otherwise, with the Hungaroring flipping last year’s script to Norris’s benefit. What felt routine in layout was anything but in spirit.
I wonder if that’s a sign for what’s to come.
Miscellaneous Notes
And now, as always, the other thoughts I had that don’t fit into the main race recap:
Rookie on the Rise: One highlight of today’s race was Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian rookie scored P6— his best F1 finish to date. He even scored a well-deserved Driver of the Day from fans. In a season dominated by the McLaren story, Bortoleto’s steady climb is a refreshing subplot.
A Solid Finish for Aston-Martin: Fernando Alonso’s P5 finish was the kind of result that slips under the radar, but it’s a solid score from the two-time World Champion. He launched like a revenant at lights out and stretched his medium stint with a grace many behind him did not have. Teammate Lance Stroll finished P7, making this Aston Martin’s best collective result since Australia.
Red Bull, redefined: Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson quietly delivered Red Bull’s best finish of the day with a P8. Yes, the junior team placed higher than Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, for the record, finished ninth after forcing Hamilton off at Turn 4. It’s a bad omen when the satellite driver is outscoring your quadruple world champion.
Speaking of Max…: Which one of you asked that question about whether he’d bring his newborn daughter to the paddock? Why do you keep asking the poor man about his personal life to begin with? Let the man race in peace. Don’t think I won’t name and shame you if you keep pestering him about it.
Backlash at the Paddock Gate: And social media went ablaze not just because of the racing, but because of who was trackside. Norris’ (alleged) girlfriend, Magui Corceiro, made a high-profile paddock appearance— causing a swamp of stan theatrics on Lando fan Twitter. Here’s my take: Magui has exhibited many of the same image-control behaviors and relationship dynamics that people (rightfully) critique Kelly Piquet for. That is all.
And, well… that’s all for now. Enjoy the summer break. I’ll see you in Zandvoort in a few weeks.
-F