By Alex Rhodes

It was a race of two strategies as Lando Norris beat McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to the top step in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

McLaren’s Norris capitalised on an audacious one-stop strategy, holding off teammate and championship rival Piastri by just six-tenths of a second at the finish line, sealing yet another one-two finish for McLaren as the sport heads into its summer break.

The race didn’t all go Norris’ way, as a tentative Turn One saw him drop to fifth, falling behind the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

However, once DRS was enabled, Norris quickly dispatched the Spaniard.

While the front-runners committed to a two-stop strategy, Norris diverged, extending his first stint on medium tyres to nearly half-race distance before switching to hards, an approach that paid off with a hard-earned victory.

Following the chequered flag, Norris commented: “I’m dead… It was tough. We weren’t planning on the one-stop at the beginning, but after the first lap, it was kind of our only option to get back into things.

“The final stint with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat out… It was the perfect result today.”

Piastri, whose championship lead is now just nine points over his teammate, said: “I pushed as hard as I could. After I saw Lando going for a one-[stop], I knew I would have to overtake on track, which is much easier said than done around here.

“Today we were just on the wrong side of it.

“He didn’t have a lot to lose. I don’t know if trying to undercut Leclerc was the right call in the end.”

As for the final step on the podium, it was a day of disappointment for pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.

Despite a promising start, his pace faded dramatically after the first round of pit stops as both McLaren drivers overtook him easily on a circuit known for its overtaking difficulty.

Leclerc’s frustration was evident, both over team radio and on the track, especially when battling Mercedes’ George Russell.

On two separate occasions, Leclerc moved aggressively in the braking zone, prompting a complaint from Russell and earning the Monegasque a five-second penalty for erratic driving.

He ultimately finished fourth.

After the race, Leclerc said: “Unfortunately, we had an issue on the chassis, so I don’t have much to add.

“It’s just extremely frustrating when you are fighting for a win… and then we lose absolutely everything later on.

“I don’t take any positives from this weekend.”

Elsewhere in the top 10, Alonso, Bortoleto, and Stroll finished fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively, with the Aston Martin drivers praised the team’s performance.

Stroll noted: “Heading into the summer break with 16 points is a big uplift for us. But we have lots to learn from this weekend as we don’t fully understand why we were more competitive here.”

Rounding out the points-paying positions were the vastly improved Liam Lawson in eighth for Racing Bulls, followed by Max Verstappen’s struggling Red Bull in ninth and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli claiming the final point in tenth.

One driver going through a particularly rough patch is Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who described himself as “useless” after finishing twelfth and suffering another early qualifying exit.

This was especially painful given that his teammate started from pole. Hamilton’s race was hindered by the difficulty of overtaking at the Hungaroring, a poor start, and a near-collision with Verstappen.

After the race, the seven-time champion said cryptically: “When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There’s a lot going on in the background that is not great… I look forward to coming back. Hopefully I’ll be back.”

Formula One now enters its summer break, with action set to return later this month at the iconic Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands.

With ten race weekends remaining before the final chequered flag in Abu Dhabi this December, there’s still everything to play for.

What’s clear is that the drivers’ championship is set for a thrilling conclusion between the two McLaren teammates.

Will Norris’ experience give him the edge, or will Piastri’s composure under pressure prove decisive?

Either way, it’s a tantalising prospect you won’t want to miss.