Lando Norris Ends McLaren Drought as Oscar Piastri Rages

Lando Norris ended McLaren’s victory drought in the 2026 Formula 1 season after converting pole position into a Hungarian Grand Prix win.

Norris lost the lead to Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. However, strong pace in clear air and an incident involving Piastri and Carlos Sainz opened the door for him to take the net lead.

Piastri felt his victory opportunity was damaged when he made contact with Sainz while attempting to lap the Williams. The collision cost him crucial time before Norris stopped and returned to the circuit ahead.

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The Australian strongly criticised Sainz’s actions, describing the incident as one of the most senseless things he had witnessed on a race track. Piastri believed no explanation could justify the Williams driver’s movement.

Piastri’s difficulties continued when his gearbox failed on lap 56. He was forced to stop while running second, ending McLaren’s opportunity to secure a one-two finish.

Lewis Hamilton also endured a disappointing conclusion to the race. Ferrari called him into the pits during the Virtual Safety Car, a decision Hamilton felt should not have been made because his tyres remained in good condition.

Hamilton was then found to have exceeded the pit-lane speed limit by 0.1kph and received a five-second penalty. The sanction dropped him to fifth behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

It was Hamilton’s third five-second penalty in three consecutive races. He had previously been punished for a false start in Britain and contact with George Russell on the opening lap in Belgium.

George Russell suffered another setback when the anti-stall system activated at the start. The Mercedes driver dropped from sixth to the rear before recovering to finish seventh.

Russell described the issue as another addition to the list of problems he has faced during the first half of the season. The result left him 59 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Away from the Hungarian race, Formula 1 also announced Malaysia’s return as a replacement round. Sepang will host F1 for the first time since 2017 after the Bahrain Grand Prix was postponed amid conflict in the Middle East.

Sainz, meanwhile, explained that a blue-flag system failure on his steering wheel prevented him from knowing Piastri was approaching to lap him. He was also battling Fernando Alonso and stated that Piastri was positioned in his blind spot when contact occurred.

Norris ultimately won the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Antonelli. The result delivered McLaren’s first victory of 2026 but also left major debate surrounding the Piastri-Sainz incident.