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In a dramatic race in Hungary, during a heated dispute over team orders, Oscar Piastri drove a McLaren car to his first Grand Prix victory and finished one-two ahead of Lando Norris.
Behind them, in a race full of see-saw battles, old rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided as they battled for third place.
Both continued to race, but Hamilton remained in third while the Red Bull driver, whose race radio messages were peppered with expletives, finished fifth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
McLaren attempted to claim its first one-two finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, but team orders sparked controversy.
There was a three-car battle between Piastri and Verstappen at the first corner, with Piastri taking the lead and then staying ahead of Norris for much of the race.
However, McLaren made a final pit stop for Norris early in order to protect him from Hamilton’s Mercedes, which put him ahead of Piastri.
Norris was asked several times to slow down and let Piastri pass him and reminded of his responsibility to the team, but he refused to do so until two laps before the end of the race.
His engineer, Will Joseph, reminded him to “remember every Sunday morning meeting” and that “I tried to protect you.”
He also told him that “the key to winning a championship is the team – you need Oscar, you need the team”.
Norris thought Piastri had to catch him before he could pass him, but in the meantime he was extending his lead.
For a long time, Norris seemed to refuse to carry out the order, but he finally acquiesced.
The incident involving Hamilton and Verstappen occurred on lap 63 when the Red Bull driver sprinted on the inside of Turn 1.
As the Red Bull car rushed past and entered the buffer zone, Dutch driver Hamilton overshot the corner and Hamilton’s left front wheel hit Verstappen’s right rear wheel.
It was the climax of a bad-tempered race for Verstappen, who lashed out at Red Bull’s strategy choice, which first left him behind Hamilton and then behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at his second pit stop.
Verstappen caught up and repassed Leclerc, but his anger appeared to spill over into his driving as he attempted to pass Hamilton.
It was the second battle between the two in the race – Verstappen was stuck behind Hamilton in the second stint as he made his first pit stop later than the Mercedes driver and failed to overtake Hamilton after multiple attempts.
Verstappen complained about his car’s performance, the lack of grip and his team’s pit stop selection, and he broke out again when he was reprimanded by race engineer Giampiero Lambiase for putting too much pressure on his tyres too early after his final stop.
“Don’t mention this to me now,” he said. “You’re giving me this strategy. I’m trying to save my race.”
But he did the opposite and after the collision he fell behind Leclerc and was unable to catch the Ferrari.
(BBC Sport)
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