Lando Norris secured McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, moving to fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship. Despite trailing championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 91 points with 11 rounds remaining, Norris expressed confidence in his ability to mount a comeback, stating that the pressure now rests on the Mercedes driver rather than himself.
Norris drew parallels to the previous season, when Max Verstappen overcame a 104-point deficit with 10 events remaining, ultimately falling short by just two points to Norris himself. The McLaren driver emphasized that his team has made fewer mistakes than Mercedes while performing competitively throughout much of the season. However, he acknowledged that consistent performance across all circuits will be essential moving forward.
McLaren introduced a major technical upgrade package to Hungary, including a new floor, which provided a significant performance gain. Team principal Andrea Stella noted that all teams are expected to continue introducing new components following the summer break, with competitive cars potentially gaining approximately half a second over the course of the remaining races. This ongoing development cycle means McLaren must continue improving its package to maintain competitiveness.
During Sunday’s race, Norris eventually overtook teammate Oscar Piastri through a strategic overtake around the second pit stop phase after being stuck behind the Australian on the opening lap. Norris explained that while he possessed superior pace and wished to attempt an undercut, he ultimately supported the team’s strategy to avoid aggressive inter-team tactics that could compromise their collective objectives. He has generally demonstrated an advantage over Piastri in recent races and attributes his strong form to focused work with engineers on extracting maximum performance from a complex car.
The season resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23.
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