Oscar Piastri described his narrow loss to Lando Norris at the Hungarian Grand Prix as “painful,” after McLaren’s differing strategies ultimately worked against him. The Melbourne driver’s two-stop plan fell short compared to Norris’ one-stop approach, costing Piastri a crucial victory.
With the race now behind him, Piastri’s championship lead shrinks to just nine points as Formula 1 heads into its summer break. The 24-year-old expressed mixed feelings about the race, acknowledging the difficulty of missing out on the win by such a small margin but appreciating the excitement of the contest.
“But, obviously, when you’re on the losing side of that battle, it’s a little bit difficult. But, yeah, we tried our best, I think, and, you know, we got ahead of Charles. I don’t know what happened to him in the last stint, but, yeah, some things to look back on, whether we should have done something a bit different in terms of strategy, but very easy to say in hindsight.”
—Oscar Piastri, F1 Driver
Challenges in Overtaking and Strategy Choices During the Race
During the Hungarian GP, Piastri viewed his teammate Lando Norris as the primary competitor rather than race leader Charles Leclerc. Although confident he could catch Norris, Piastri admitted overtaking him was exceptionally difficult due to track layout and aerodynamic challenges.
He explained the difficulty of maintaining close proximity through multiple corners, where getting closer in one section often meant losing time in the next. Long corners at the end of each lap reduced downforce, which further hindered his ability to overtake his teammate.
“That made it very tough. And then with such long corners to end the lap, it just kills any downforce you’ve got. So, I knew that was going to be incredibly tough. Even if I had more laps, I’m not sure the result would have been any different, but I certainly tried.”
—Oscar Piastri, F1 Driver
Final Attempts and Race-Ending Decisions
Piastri made his last overtaking effort on the penultimate lap by trying to pass Norris at Turn 1, but locked up under braking, forcing him to back off. Despite this, he believes the lockup did not significantly affect the race outcome, as he was able to quickly close the gap again afterward.
He also noted that to get any closer than six or seven tenths, fresher tires would have been necessary to make a successful move. Even so, he felt compelled to take the available overtaking opportunity rather than wait, as another chance might never have presented itself.
“Not that much, I don’t think,”
he said regarding the lockup’s effect.
“I was able to close the gap again pretty quickly for the last lap. But it’s kind of like I said, getting to within six or seven tenths was doable, but to then get even closer than that, I think I needed brand new Softs to be able to do much from that point.”
—Oscar Piastri, F1 Driver
“So, yeah, it was always going to be tough when I got close. But, I mean, you never want to not take an opportunity that you think is there in case another one never comes up. So, I had to go for it and, you know, in hindsight, obviously you can say maybe I should have waited another lap, but I’m pretty convinced that even if I had waited one more lap, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”
—Oscar Piastri, F1 Driver
Implications for Piastri and McLaren Moving Forward
The close finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix highlights the fine margins that can decide races and championships in Formula 1. Piastri’s reduced points lead intensifies the pressure on him and McLaren as they aim to maintain momentum through the remainder of the 2025 season.
How McLaren responds in terms of strategy and tire management following this split-decision race could prove crucial as the team pursues both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles. Meanwhile, Piastri’s reflections show a mature approach, focusing on learning from the outcome rather than dwelling on disappointment.
With strong competition from rivals like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, every decision on and off track will impact the championship battle. The Hungarian GP loss serves as a reminder that even slight miscalculations can have a lasting effect on drivers and teams contesting at the highest level.
