Oscar Piastri believes that he “earned” his first Formula 1 race triumph after McLaren team orders cleared the path for his teammate Lando Norris to let him pass for the victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Piastri took advantage of the start and led the race for the initial two stints at the Hungaroring. McLaren aimed to secure a one-two finish by preventing any undercut attempts from Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the final stint of the race. They decided to pit Norris, who was in second place, two laps before Piastri, allowing Norris to undercut his Australian teammate in exchange for swapping positions. Norris complied, but not before creating a six-second gap over Piastri during several laps, with only three laps remaining at the Hungaroring. Did this diminish Piastri’s first victory, and did Norris’ pace in the final stint indicate that Piastri didn’t truly deserve the win?
Piastri’s response was that he didn’t believe Norris “gave” him the win, but rather “gave it back” to him. He explained that the impact of the dirty air had a significant effect, even from a considerable distance. Piastri acknowledged that they were evenly matched throughout the race, with each driver pulling ahead in different stints. However, he emphasized that track position played a crucial role in his victory, stating that he deserved it because he secured the track position at the start. While Piastri admitted that winning without team orders would have been ideal, he maintained that he deserved the win because the last pit stop was executed based on the team’s trust in reversing the positions.
He expressed that he didn’t feel like the win was handed to him and acknowledged that there were areas he could improve. However, he emphasized that he put himself in a favorable position at the start and stated that if they were genuinely racing at that point, they wouldn’t have made the pit stop in the way they did.
