Lando Norris holds off Oscar Piastri in thrilling battle to win Hungarian Grand Prix

Lando Norris has won the Hungarian Grand Prix after holding off a thrilling late-race challenge for the lead from McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri, the Briton having made an alternative strategy work in his favour to take victory.

Polesitter Charles Leclerc had made a strong start to hold P1 when the race got underway, allowing the Ferrari driver to build up a steady lead over Piastri in P2 during the opening stages of the race – a position he maintained amid the first round of pit stops, despite Piastri’s attempt to undercut his rival.

However, the picture started to evolve as different strategies played out amongst the frontrunners, with Leclerc and Piastri – both on two-stop plans – finding themselves behind the one-stopping Norris in the final phase of the race.

While Leclerc’s pace fell away in the latter stages, a fast Piastri set about chasing down Norris for the lead – leading to a gripping conclusion as the Australian was hot on the tail of his team mate in the final laps.

Despite a couple of attempts, Piastri could not find a way past the other McLaren, with Norris crossing the line just 0.698s ahead to seal his fifth win of the season. This has cut Piastri’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship down to nine points entering into the summer break.

George Russell took third for Mercedes, having overtaken a struggling Leclerc to claim the final spot on the podium. Leclerc had to settle for fourth on a disappointing day for the Monegasque, who also received a five-second time penalty for driving erratically during his battle with Russell.

Fernando Alonso put in a solid drive to claim fifth for Aston Martin, marking a valuable double points finish for the squad with Lance Stroll not far behind in seventh. Between them was Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, marking another eye-catching performance from the rookie.

Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls, followed by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen who had a tricky day in ninth. The Dutchman is also facing an investigation after the race for an incident with Lewis Hamilton that saw the Ferrari man go wide.

Kimi Antonelli took the final point on offer in P10 for Mercedes, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar just missed out in P11. Also outside of the top 10 was Hamilton, who had to settle for P12 on a tough weekend for the seven-time World Champion.

Nico Hulkenberg placed in 13th for Kick Sauber, followed by the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in 14th and 15th respectively. Esteban Ocon was the sole Haas to finish the race in 16th, with Yuki Tsunoda behind in 17th for Red Bull.

It was a difficult day for Alpine, as Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly completed the order down in P18 and P19, the latter having received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Sainz.

Ollie Bearman, meanwhile, failed to make the chequered flag, with damage to his Haas forcing him to retire from the running.

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