Lando Norris had to fight incredibly hard, but by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, he has reduced his World Championship deficit to teammate Oscar Piastri to just nine points. “It took a lot of effort, I’m exhausted now. The strategy was a gamble, but the reward is all the greater,” he said.
Initially, it was not McLaren and Norris’s plan to opt for a one-stop strategy. After a poor start, where the Brit fell back to fourth place, the team and driver decided to change their approach. “At that point, I didn’t think we could win, but I thought we might be able to come second.”
However, they managed to pull it off. “It’s possible, but everything has to go right. No mistakes, good choices from the team. But it was tough in the final stages of the race.” During this time, he came under intense pressure from Piastri, his teammate and title rival. “He did his best to beat me, it’s fun to be able to fight like this with each other.”
By winning, Norris has reduced his deficit to Piastri in the World Championship to nine points. “Although that doesn’t say anything about the momentum, it swings back and forth. For me, this is the perfect result, that’s for sure.”