Lando Norris ready for tight title battle with Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris believes his championship battle with Oscar Piastri will go to the wire following his victory at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Norris started third and dropped to fifth after a poor first corner at the Hungaroring before he rolled the strategy dice — stopping one less time than his rivals — to take the lead and then held off Piastri’s late charge in a brilliant finale.
Piastri came within centimetres of colliding with Norris on the penultimate lap when he momentarily lost control of his McLaren as he attempted a banzai move for the win.
But Norris survived and held his nerve to keep the fast-charging Australian at bay to land his fifth win of the season — his third in his last four appearances — taking the chequered flag just six tenths clear and reducing the championship deficit to nine points with 10 rounds remaining. Max Verstappen, who finished ninth on Sunday, remains in third in the standings but 97 points off the championship pace.
“I’m dead,” said Norris. “In the final stint Oscar was catching and I was pushing flat out. My voice has gone a little bit.
“It has been a tough battle so far with Oscar and it is going to continue to be tough. The margins between us are pretty small. There are things I can do better and improve on, and I am sure he will probably say the same thing. So, it is going to be a good and tough fight, probably until the end.
“Even though the results have looked great, I’m not making my life very easy at the minute. If I can work on those things, then I’ll be in a better place.”
Norris’ win in the concluding round before the summer break reignites his bid to land a maiden world crown. But the Bristolian can count himself somewhat fortunate to be standing on the top step of the podium.
At the start, Norris got away well from his marks, but an attempt to pass Piastri on the inside of the opening corner backfired.
Norris did not commit to the overtake and that left him in no-man’s land, allowing George Russell and then Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to breeze through.
On Lap 3, Norris fought his way clear of Alonso but was then tucked up behind Russell and making little progress.
Piastri and Charles Leclerc, who controlled the first stint of the race from pole position, stopped for new tyres on Laps 18 and 19 respectively. Russell also peeled into the pits on Lap 19 promoting Norris to the front.
McLaren were now considering a one-stop strategy. Norris’ race engineer, Will Joseph, was on the radio: “Lando, 40 laps on the hard tyre, you up for it?”
Norris replied: “Yeah, why not?”
On Lap 31 of 70, the Englishman came in for his sole change of tyres before lighting up the timesheets with the fastest laps of the race so far.
In his haste to catch up, Norris then dropped two wheels through the gravel on the exit of the chicane, which irked Joseph.
“Lando, just keep the focus, we don’t want these mistakes,” he said.
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Leclerc, Piastri and Russell were all forced to stop again. When it all shuffled out, Norris led Leclerc by seven seconds, with Piastri five seconds further back.
But Piastri was on the move, swatting Leclerc aside on Lap 51 and then set about reducing Norris’ nine-second advantage.
With five laps to go, Piastri was just a second behind his teammate, and on the penultimate lap, the Australian went for glory at the first bend. However, Norris retained his composure and remained ahead to land what could be a pivotal win in his championship charge.
Russell took the final place on the podium with Leclerc a disappointed fourth. The next race takes place in the Netherlands on August 31.