Hungarian GP 2025: McLaren makes history and Ferrari sinks into crisis

Masterclass strategy: Norris holds the pressure and takes McLaren to the top

The big winner of the race was Lando Norris, who not only claimed victory at Hungaroring but also secured McLaren’s 200th win in F1 history: a historic milestone.

The key to his triumph? A one-stop strategy. While most drivers went for two stops, Norris took a gamble by sticking with more worn tires until the end. Even with increasing pressure from teammate Oscar Piastri, who was flying in the final laps on fresher tires, Norris held his ground and crossed the finish line with just 0.698 seconds to spare.

It was the closest finish of the season.

Full podium: McLaren dominance and a highlight for Russell

2nd place: Oscar Piastri – Despite not winning, Piastri keeps the lead in the Drivers’ Championship, just 9 points ahead of Norris.

3rd place: George Russell – The Mercedes driver delivered a consistent performance and passed Leclerc with authority, securing his sixth podium of the year.

Ferrari on alert: Leclerc penalized, Hamilton invisible
While McLaren shined, Ferrari endured a Hungarian nightmare.
Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position, finished in fourth place. After leading the early laps, the Monegasque’s pace mysteriously dropped off after his second pit stop. To make matters worse, he received a 5-second penalty for what was deemed erratic defending against Russell.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, had his worst race with the Italian team. Starting outside the top 10, he failed to make progress and ended up in 12th place, visibly frustrated. In his own words, it was an “utterly useless” performance.

Ferrari admits it still doesn’t understand what caused the loss of performance in the middle of the race. The crisis is out in the open.

Positive surprises: Alonso, Bortoleto, and Verstappen out of the top 5

Other names worth highlighting:
Fernando Alonso finished 5th — his best result of the season so far.

Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) shone with an excellent 6th place, cementing his status as one of the biggest revelations of 2025.

Max Verstappen could only manage 9th place and escaped punishment after an investigation into a move on Hamilton.

Now it’s summer break… and tension at Ferrari

The Hungarian GP marks the end of the first half of the season. Now, drivers and teams enter the traditional summer break, with racing set to return at the Dutch GP in late August.
While McLaren can rest with a job more than well done, Ferrari faces turbulent weeks ahead, trying to figure out what’s going wrong, before it’s too late to save their season.