Lando Norris wins Hungarian GP in thrilling McLaren 1-2 finish

Budapest: Lando Norris secured a hard-fought victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off a relentless challenge from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in a tense finish. This win significantly boosts Norris's Formula 1 title chances as the season heads into its mid-season break.

Norris, who briefly dropped to fifth on the opening lap, expertly managed his tires to execute a one-stop strategy. This contrasted with Piastri's two-stop approach, which allowed the Australian to steadily close the gap in the latter stages of the race. Despite Piastri's fresher tires and a daring attempt to overtake on the second-to-last lap that almost resulted in a collision, Norris "clung on with worn tires" to claim McLaren's 200th F1 win by less than a second. The victory slashes Piastri's championship lead from 16 points to just nine.

Reflecting on the gruelling race, Norris admitted, "I’m dead. It was tough, it was tough. The final stint, with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat out."

Meanwhile, George Russell secured third place for Mercedes after successfully battling past Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Leclerc, who started from pole position with aspirations of delivering Ferrari's first Grand Prix win of the year, ultimately finished fourth. He voiced strong criticism of his team's strategic decisions, claiming they rendered his car "undriveable."

With inputs from AP