The 2025 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the final race before the traditional summer break, and it delivered a surprising result. Lando Norris claimed a sensational victory at the Hungaroring through a perfectly executed one-stop strategy, while Charles Leclerc suffered a dramatic drop-off in the final stint, finishing only fourth. Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line in second place after a strong performance, and George Russell secured third for Mercedes.
Laps 1–30
Green flag, and the race begins! Charles Leclerc makes an excellent getaway and successfully defends his pole position, maintaining the lead into Turn 1. Oscar Piastri holds on to second, while Lando Norris has a poor start, losing three positions as both George Russell and Fernando Alonso get past him.
The opening stages unfold smoothly without major incidents. Norris gradually recovers from his difficult start, climbing back up to fourth place and closing the gap to the front.
By Lap 10, as expected on this tight and twisty circuit, overtaking becomes increasingly rare. The running order remains mostly unchanged, with Charles Leclerc leading and gradually extending his advantage to three seconds over Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen is the first of the top 10 drivers to make a pit stop, coming in on Lap 18 to switch to the hard compound tyres. Piastri follows on the next lap in an attempt to undercut Leclerc. The Monegasque driver reacts immediately, pitting a lap later and rejoining ahead of the Australian driver, successfully defending his position. Meanwhile, Lando Norris continues on track without stopping, opting for an alternate strategy.
Laps 30–70
The second phase of the race begins without major surprises. On Lap 32, Lando Norris finally makes his only pit stop, switching to hard tyres. He rejoins the track in fourth position, behind George Russell.
Charles Leclerc pits again on Lap 41 to defend against a potential undercut from Piastri, taking on another set of hard tyres. The McLaren driver chooses to stay out, opting for a different strategy to avoid running in traffic. As a result, Leclerc finds himself in fourth place behind Norris, whose tyres are only nine laps older but still performing strongly.
On Lap 46, Piastri finally pits, handing the lead of the race to Lando Norris. From this point on, Charles Leclerc’s situation becomes more difficult: stuck behind Norris, he is unable to make the most of his fresher tyres. The difference in tyre wear is too minimal to give the Ferrari driver an advantage, and Norris begins to steadily increase the gap.
Oscar Piastri quickly closes in on Leclerc and, thanks to a superior race pace, overtakes him with ease, pushing the Ferrari driver down to third place. The SF-25 shows significant performance degradation compared to the two McLarens, who start pulling away and consolidating the top two positions. Eventually, even George Russell catches and overtakes Leclerc, dropping him to fourth and underlining Ferrari’s severe pace issues during the final stint.
In the closing laps, the battle intensifies at the front between the two McLaren drivers. Oscar Piastri puts pressure on Lando Norris, but the British driver defends expertly. Despite a rough start, Norris completes a flawless race, taking a well-earned victory thanks to an excellent strategy and consistent pace.
Strategic brilliance by Lando Norris, nightmare finale for Charles Leclerc
The 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix may not have offered the most thrilling on-track battles, but it did showcase a brilliant strategic victory by Lando Norris. McLaren executed the perfect plan and proved once again that their MCL39 is incredibly competitive on hard tyres. Both Norris and Oscar Piastri demonstrated top-tier racecraft and tire management.
For Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari, it was a bitter defeat. After a strong start that hinted at a possible win, the Monegasque driver faded significantly. Despite being on the same strategy as Oscar Piastri and George Russell, Leclerc could not match their pace in the final stint. A combination of strategic limitations, fuel saving, and unclear technical issues led to a collapse in performance for the SF-25.
In contrast, George Russell delivered one of his best drives of the season. With Mercedes struggling in recent races, the British driver maximized every opportunity to secure a well-deserved podium finish.
It was a weekend to forget for Max Verstappen, who had one of his worst races of the season. The Dutchman crossed the finish line in ninth place after a difficult and frustrating Grand Prix, struggling with car balance and lacking the pace to contend with the frontrunners.
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