The first half of the Formula 1 season came to a close Sunday with the Hungarian Grand Prix.
And there is much to discuss.
After fading back following a “worst-case scenario” start, Lando Norris brilliantly managed a one-stop strategy, securing a much-needed victory to close the gap to Oscar Piastri at the front of the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings. It was also the closest green-flag finish this season, as Norris won by just 0.698 seconds over his teammate.
It was a win that also made F1 history, as McLaren became the second constructor in the history of the sport to reach 200 grand prix victories. They joined Ferrari on one of the smallest lists the sport has to offer.
Let’s recap a stunning race with some winners and losers.
Winner: Lando Norris
At the end of the first lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lando Norris thought his chances of a win had already eluded him. A four-way battle off the line shuffled Norris down the pecking order and into fifth place, and in his words, it was the “worst-case scenario.”
“Brilliant,” the driver said to himself as the first lap ended, albeit in jest.
But as the laps ticked down on his opening stint, and other leaders pitted in front of him, the door opened to a potential one-stop strategy. McLaren asked Norris if he wanted to give it a shot, and even he was not sure it would work.
“Will [Joseph, his race engineer] said, ‘What do we think of a one-stop?’ and I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ My confidence wasn’t the highest, but it was my best chance of trying to do something,” described Norris in the FIA Press Conference after the race.
However, he also needed to convince McLaren that the strategy would work, despite the team offering that approach. Speaking with the media after the race, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella outlined how the team did not even think a one-stopper was possible.
“Our baseline strategy was a two-stop strategy,” started Stella after the race.
“We did not necessarily think a one-stop was possible, so we went with the two-stop for Oscar to try and pass Leclerc in the first stop. Then we tried to extend in the second stop to have a tire delta and this worked,” continued Stella.
“With Lando, when we extended, leaving Lando out, we did not think the one-stop would have been possible. But, credit to Lando, he put together some very strong sectors and lap times with used tyres, so we convinced ourselves the one-stop was starting to get into the game as we progressed with the first stint.
“We did not enter the race with a one or a two-stop. We thought the two-stop would be the strategy.”
But Norris made it the strategy, delivering a win he needed to jolt his championship hopes. He made his opening stint on a set of medium tires last until Lap 31, when he pitted for a set of hard tires that he made last over the rest of the 70-lap race, holding off a closing Piastri — on fresher tires — over the final few laps.
“I think it’s one of the first ones I’ve won in probably this manner,” continued Norris. “I’ve not won many races, so most circumstances are still new, but I think it’s the first one where doing a completely alternate strategy to most, giving myself that opportunity, worked out.
“I think there have been some others where going long in the first stint, Miami, then getting the Safety Car, things like that have helped me from a luck side. Today, there was not really any of that. So, I think the most rewarding from ‘let’s try to do something different’ and it working out, which was a good one.”
With that win, Norris cut his teammate’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship race to nine points.
Had Piastri caught Norris and taken the win ahead of him, the Australian driver would have extended his lead over Norris to 23 points. While that would not have been an insurmountable gap, it would have been a substantial one given the state of play between the two.
Instead, Norris heads to the break with a little momentum of his own, even if he believes there are still areas where he needs to improve.
“So, it’s going [to] be a long second half of the season, I’m sure, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to a nice break, a bit of time to rest,” added Norris. “And, yeah, try and come back even better because there are those things I need to improve on and want to improve on. I’m not giving myself the best opportunities. Even though the results have looked great, I’m not making my life very easy for myself at the minute.
“So if I can work on those things, then I’ll be in a better place.”
The title fight between Norris and Piastri has taken several twists and turns already, and more certainly are on the horizon. But the closing laps of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix did feel like a critical juncture in that fight. Had Piastri chased down Norris, it would have not only given him that 23-point lead as noted above, but a massive boost heading into the Summer Shutdown.
And it would have left Norris wondering what could have been, with two weeks to ponder that question.
Instead of being left to wonder what might have been, Norris: Secured his fifth win of the season, cut into Piastri’s lead, won with an alternate strategy, and gets to look ahead to a final ten-race sprint to the end of the season knowing he won three of those races (the Netherlands, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi) a season ago.
Not a bad way to head to the break.
Losers: Ferrari
As the Hungarian Grand Prix drew to a close, one Ferrari driver sounded like he needed a hug, and the other sounded like he wanted to get as far away from the sport as possible.
It was that kind of weekend for Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc captured pole position on Saturday, stunning the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri. While he led over the opening stint, Norris’ one-stop strategy ended up putting Leclerc between a rock and a hard place.
Or two fast McLarens to be precise.
Leclerc has Norris in front of him on a one-stop strategy, and Piastri behind him with the threat of an undercut looming. Leclerc’s frustration grew in the cockpit, and at one point, he lamented that he would not even finish on the podium.
Which he did not do, as he ended up fourth behind the McLarens and Russell after a late-race battle. That fight with Russell, coming in a moment of frustration for Leclerc, ended up costing him additional time as Leclerc was given a five-second penalty for “erratic riving.”
Leclerc was also assessed a penalty point for that infraction.
“From around Lap 40 we had a problem with the chassis, so now I’ve had more details about it,” said Leclerc. “In the car obviously I had no idea what was going on. I mean I had an idea, but it was a wrong idea because I thought it was something that was in our control.
“Very disappointed,” he added. “I don’t take any positives from this weekend when we ended the weekend like that.
“When we have one opportunity in a year to win a race, we need to take it and today we didn’t.”
And that was how the best-finishing Ferrari driver described the weekend.
Because on the other side of the garage, things were rather dismal. After missing out on Q3, Lewis Hamilton referred to himself as “useless,” and suggested that Ferrari should find another driver. After finishing 12th in the Grand Prix, he did not exactly walk that statement back.
“Same as it was yesterday,” said Hamilton when asked about his mindset after the race. “I’m glad it’s over. I’m looking forward to going away.”
If any team needed a break to reset, it is Ferrari.
Winners: Mercedes
Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes reverted to a previous rear suspension, hoping to give George Russell and Kimi Antonelli more confidence in the W16 after a disappointing run of form.
The results were almost immediate.
Russell delivered a podium finish, his sixth of the season, and Antonelli returned to the points with a P10, his first finish inside the top ten since his P3 at the Canadian Grand Prix. The 18-year-old rookie needed to work some magic to pull off that tenth-place finish, as he nursed home aging hard tires after stopping on Lap 21, making the most of a one-stop strategy.
“This has been a positive weekend for the team here in Hungary. We reverted on the rear suspension specification and that helped provide a much more stable and balanced car for the drivers,” said Toto Wolff in the team’s post-race report. “They had more confidence in it and that was reflected in their pace. It was solid throughout and that helped George score a well-deserved podium and put Kimi in a position to hold off several cars for a point, despite being on nearly 50-lap-old tires.”
Those results also trimmed Ferrari’s advantage over Mercedes in the fight for second down to 24 points.
“This result and our overall performance here at the Hungaroring give us a direction for the rest of the season. As our focus turns to 2026, we won’t have any more major aerodynamic upgrades to bring to the track,” added Wolff. “Nevertheless, there are refinements we can make as we look to optimise the car we have. That will be useful as we look to end 2025 in a positive way and fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship over these final 10 races of the year.”
Losers: Alpine
Oliver Bearman’s retirement left 19 cars on the track when the Hungarian Grand Prix drew to a close.
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto were the last two cars in the running order.
Colapinto finished 18th and Gasly 19th to bring Alpine’s first half of the season to a close, and the statements from the key team members were brutally honest in their assessment of the race.
“It was not the best of days today and a difficult race for us as a team,” said Colapinto in Alpine’s post-race report.
“We cannot be pleased with the end result today, even if it felt like our execution was quite good. Ultimately, we are just too slow. The last two weekends we have been able to maximise the conditions and come away with two good results. Today was more conventional and it really highlighted our weak spots,” added Gasly.
While the team will continue to fight for points, it would be fair to say Alpine might have more than a single eye on 2026.
“A disappointing end result and a difficult weekend overall for the team, which has really highlighted areas of weakness in our car,” said Flavio Briatore. “It has been a tough season so far and the aim for the remainder of the year is to try and turnaround our current position.
“It is a big challenge as all our focus is on 2026 and capitalising on the opportunity of the new regulations. Now is a critical phase in our work for next year and I know the team at Enstone is making positive headway on that project,” added the Alpine boss. “I expect everyone to come back from the summer break with a lot of determination and fighting spirit, giving it our all to finish the season as strongly as possible and make sure we’re ready for 2026.”
Winners: Sauber
The last time Sauber left a race weekend without any points?
That came in the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May.
Since then, Sauber has closed each race weekend with a reason to celebrate. On this day, it was rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who followed up his best qualifying performance in F1 (he qualified seventh on Saturday) with his best race result, as he finished sixth in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
“I’m so happy with this result, it’s our best so far and it shows the amazing job we’re doing as a team,” said Bortoleto in the team’s post-race report. We’ve been making the right steps in the right direction, and this is just the beginning of what we can achieve together.”
“Today’s result marks our sixth consecutive race finishing in the points, an achievement that reflects the consistency and competitiveness we’ve been building throughout the season,” said Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley. “Gabi’s drive was nothing short of exceptional. He secured P6 — his best result so far in his early Formula One career — and earned a well-deserved Driver of the Day award. Nico [Hülkenberg] also showed incredible race craft, especially in the opening laps. Although he eventually finished P13, it was one of his strongest drives, and his performance deserves respect even if it didn’t end in points.”
When Sauber left the Principality following the Monaco Grand Prix, they were mired in last place in the Constructors’ Championship with just six points.
At the moment, they sit in seventh place with 51 points, a testament to their incredible run of form that continued in Budapest.
However, they were in sixth place when the race began, which leads us to …
Winners: Aston Martin
As the week in Budapest unfolded, it seemed like Aston Martin might deliver a surprise.
And they did, starting on Saturday when Fernando Alonso qualified fifth and Lance Stroll qualified sixth as both drivers reached Q3. However, that was also the case in Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when Alonso qualified fifth and Stroll qualified eighth, yet they walked away from that race without a single point to show for their efforts.
That was not the case today. Alonso managed his race and took home fifth, while Stroll slotted in seventh. It was the team’s best result since Alonso took fifth in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and their biggest point tally since the 2023 São Paulo Grand Prix.
Both drivers made the one-stop strategy work, starting out on the medium compound and then switching to the hard tire, with Stroll pitting on Lap 36 and Alonso coming in on Lap 39.
“Fifth and seventh place in Budapest is a good way to wrap up the first half of the year. Fernando and Lance have been excellent all weekend and converted our strong qualifying result into important points,” said Mike Krack, the team’s Chief Trackside Officer. “They both made the one-stop strategy work and did a great job of managing the Medium tires during the long first stint.
“It has been our most competitive weekend this season so well done to the entire team for the great preparation and execution. It is always nice to start the summer break off the back of a good result and these 16 points will give everybody in the team a boost. We will take a few weeks’ holiday and come back ready to build on this result in the races to come.”
Those 16 points also moved Aston Martin into sixth place in the Constructors’ title race, one point ahead of Sauber.
