Team orders hand Piastri maiden F1 victory in Hungary
Oscar Piastri said he realised a childhood dream on Sunday after claiming his maiden Formula One victory in a whirlpool of mixed emotions and vexed team orders as McLaren claimed an emphatic one-two at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After taking the lead at the start, when he passed pole-sitting team-mate Lando Norris, the 23-year-old Australian pulled clear to control the race until losing out in the pit-stops, when the Briton gained an advantage. McLaren pitted him first for an 'undercut' to fend off seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes who finished third after surviving a skirmish with Red Bull's Max Verstappen. This resulted in Norris, who had superior pace, inheriting the lead, leading into the closing laps and receiving repeated orders to give back his position – and victory – to Piastri, who was struggling to close the gap. After prolonged strained dialogue on the team radio, Norris agreed to slow down and let Piastri pass him with three laps remaining, despite knowing he was losing a chance to cut substantially into Max Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship. "A very special day for me," said Piastri. "This is the day I've dreamed of as a kid, to be standing on the top step of an F1 podium. A bit complicated at the end, but I put myself in the right position at the start." He added he was unfazed by the team orders arguments played out over the closing laps as McLaren asked Norris to slow down, preserve his tyres and allow Piastri to catch and pass him. "The longer you leave it, of course, you get a bit nervous, but it was well-executed by the team and it was the right thing to do. I had put myself in the right position at the start," he said. "With the different strategies we had, my pace probably wasn't as quick as I would have liked in the last stint, but I was still in the right position to make it happen." (AFP)