
Oscar Piastri edges out Lando Norris in final practice in Hungary
Norris headed both sessions at the Hungaroring on Friday but played second fiddle to his championship rival and McLaren team-mate in the concluding running before qualifying.
McLaren have been dominant all weekend at the last round before the summer break with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third, albeit four tenths back.
Lewis Hamilton was next up, 0.768 seconds off Piastri's pace, with Kimi Antonelli fifth for Mercedes and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso sixth.
Oscar Piastri denied Lando Norris a practice clean sweep in Hungary (Bradley Collyer/PA)
George Russell took eighth place but Max Verstappen's troubled weekend continued after he finished way down in 12th.
The four-time world champion took aim at the handling of his Red Bull as he ended the session 1.2 sec slower than Piastri. Yuki Tsunoda was 19th of 20 in the other Red Bull.
Qualifying for the 14th round of 24 takes place at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST). Piastri holds a 16-point lead over team-mate Norris in the world championship.

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RTÉ News
30 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Lando Norris cuts Oscar Piastri's lead with Hungarian GP success
Lando Norris held off a thrilling late charge from Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and reduce his world championship rival's lead to nine points. Norris was running in fourth place but benefited from stopping for tyres one fewer time than his rivals to land his fifth victory of the season. The British driver took the chequered flag just six tenths ahead of Piastri, who went within centimetres of colliding with Norris on the last-but-one lap when he locked up his front-right tyre at the opening corner. "Remember how we go racing, Oscar," came the warning from his race engineer, Tom Stallard. George Russell passed Charles Leclerc with eight laps to go to take the final spot on the podium. Pole-sitter Leclerc had to settle for fourth. Lewis Hamilton, who urged Ferrari to replace him after he qualified only 12th, finished in the same position, a lap down. Norris' win in the concluding round before the summer break - his third triumph from his last four appearances - reignites his bid to land a maiden world crown. But the Bristolian can count himself somewhat fortunate to be standing on the top step of the podium. Norris started third, and although he got away well from his marks, an attempt to pass Piastri on the inside of the opening corner backfired. Norris did not commit to the overtake and that left him in no-man's land, allowing Russell and then Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso to breeze through. On lap three, Norris fought his way clear of Alonso but was then tucked up behind Russell and making little progress. On Saturday, Hamilton described himself as "absolutely useless" after he was knocked out of Q2 with Leclerc, in the other scarlet car, having taken the Scuderia's first pole of the year. By the end of the first lap, Hamilton dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli and was 14th. By eight laps, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, and at the end of lap 14, he trailed his team-mate by half a minute. Piastri was the first of the leaders to blink, stopping for hard tyres on lap 18. Ferrari, reacting to Piastri's stop, pulled in Leclerc on the next lap. On fresh tyres, Piastri had been quicker than the Ferrari, but Leclerc managed to stay ahead. Russell also stopped on lap 19 promoting Norris to the lead. Further back, and Max Verstappen, who had also taken on fresh tyres, was tucked up behind Hamilton, yet to stop, in a duel for 11th. Verstappen threw his Red Bull underneath Hamilton's Ferrari at Turn 4 on lap 29, with the seven-time world champion running off the road and losing the place to his old nemesis. The flashpoint will be investigated by the stewards after the race. Returning to the front, and McLaren were now considering a one-stop strategy for Norris. His race engineer, Will Joseph, was on the radio: "Lando, 40 laps on the hard tyre, you up for it?" Norris replied: "Yeah, why not?" On lap 31 of 70 he came in for his sole change of tyres before lighting up the timesheets with the fastest laps of the race so far. Norris then dropped two wheels through the gravel on the exit of the chicane, which irked Joseph. "Lando, just keep the focus, we don't want these mistakes," he said. Both Leclerc and Piastri were forced to stop again on laps 40 and 45, respectively. Norris now led Leclerc by seven seconds, with Piastri five seconds further back. But Piastri was on the move, swatting Leclerc aside on lap 51 and then setting about reducing Norris' nine-second advantage. With five laps to go, Piastri was just a second behind, and on the penultimate lap attempted a banzai move at the first corner but Norris remained ahead to land what could be a pivotal win in his championship charge. Alonso finished fifth, one place ahead of rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. Verstappen finished ninth, with Hamilton fighting his way past Pierre Gasly and then Sainz but finished outside of the points on a desperate weekend for the 40-year-old.


Irish Examiner
30 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Lando Norris holds off Oscar Piastri to win thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris held off a thrilling late charge from Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and reduce his world championship rival's lead to nine points. Norris was running in fourth place but benefited from stopping for tyres one fewer time than his rivals to land his fifth victory of the season. The British driver took the chequered flag just six tenths ahead of Piastri, who went within centimetres of colliding with Norris on the last-but-one lap when he locked up his front-right tyre at the opening corner. 'Remember how we go racing, Oscar,' came the warning from his race engineer, Tom Stallard. George Russell passed Charles Leclerc with eight laps to go to take the final spot on the podium. Pole-sitter Leclerc had to settle for fourth. Lewis Hamilton, who urged Ferrari to replace him after he qualified only 12th, finished in the same position, a lap down. Norris' win in the concluding round before the summer break – his third triumph from his last four appearances – reignites his bid to land a maiden world crown. But the Bristolian can count himself somewhat fortunate to be standing on the top step of the podium. Norris started third, and although he got away well from his marks, an attempt to pass Piastri on the inside of the opening corner backfired. Norris did not commit to the overtake and that left him in no-man's land, allowing Russell and then Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso to breeze through. On lap three, Norris fought his way clear of Alonso but was then tucked up behind Russell and making little progress. On Saturday, Hamilton described himself as 'absolutely useless' after he was knocked out of Q2 with Leclerc, in the other scarlet car, having taken the Scuderia's first pole of the year. By the end of the first lap, Hamilton dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli and was 14th. By eight laps, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, and at the end of lap 14, he trailed his team-mate by half a minute. Piastri was the first of the leaders to blink, stopping for hard tyres on lap 18. Ferrari, reacting to Piastri's stop, pulled in Leclerc on the next lap. On fresh tyres, Piastri had been quicker than the Ferrari, but Leclerc managed to stay ahead. Russell also stopped on lap 19 promoting Norris to the lead. Further back, and Max Verstappen, who had also taken on fresh tyres, was tucked up behind Hamilton, yet to stop, in a duel for 11th. Verstappen threw his Red Bull underneath Hamilton's Ferrari at Turn 4 on lap 29, with the seven-time world champion running off the road and losing the place to his old nemesis. The flashpoint will be investigated by the stewards after the race. Returning to the front, and McLaren were now considering a one-stop strategy for Norris. His race engineer, Will Joseph, was on the radio: 'Lando, 40 laps on the hard tyre, you up for it?' Norris replied: 'Yeah, why not?' On lap 31 of 70 he came in for his sole change of tyres before lighting up the timesheets with the fastest laps of the race so far. Norris then dropped two wheels through the gravel on the exit of the chicane, which irked Joseph. 'Lando, just keep the focus, we don't want these mistakes,' he said. Both Leclerc and Piastri were forced to stop again on laps 40 and 45, respectively. Norris now led Leclerc by seven seconds, with Piastri five seconds further back. But Piastri was on the move, swatting Leclerc aside on lap 51 and then setting about reducing Norris' nine-second advantage. With five laps to go, Piastri was just a second behind, and on the penultimate lap attempted a banzai move at the first corner but Norris remained ahead to land what could be a pivotal win in his championship charge. Alonso finished fifth, one place ahead of rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. Verstappen finished ninth, with Hamilton fighting his way past Pierre Gasly and then Sainz but finished outside of the points on a desperate weekend for the 40-year-old. 'I am dead, I am dead,' Norris said. 'We were not planning on the one stop, but it was our only chance after the first lap. I have pushed hard, and my voice has gone a little bit but it was the perfect result today. 'We are so close in the championship, it is hard to say if the momentum is on either side, but it is fun racing against Oscar, and I just about held on so I look forward to plenty more of these.' Piastri said: 'I pushed as hard as I could. After I saw Lando take on the one stop, I knew I would have to overtake on track and that is easier said than done.'


The Irish Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Lando Norris pips McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in tense Hungarian Grand Prix as F1 title race heats up
It was a miserable weekend for Lewis Hamilton though WONDER LAND Lando Norris pips McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in tense Hungarian Grand Prix as F1 title race heats up LANDO NORRIS won the Hungarian Grand Prix by the skin of his teeth to leave him trailing Oscar Piastri by just nine points in the title race. It will go down as a pivotal moment for the championship as the plucky Brit had gambled on a one-stop strategy and it paid off against the bold and fearless Aussie, who hunted him down like a shark until the very end but had to settle for second. 6 Lando Norris celebrates after winning the Hungarian Grand prix Credit: Getty 6 The Brit's brilliant one-stop strategy helped him see off McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri Credit: Getty 6 Norris crosses the line with Piastri right behind him Credit: EPA George Russell came in third after coming out on top of a fierce battle for third with Charles Leclerc, who had a meltdown at his Ferrari team for blowing pole-position. Leclerc got away well, holding his lead at the front, while a horrible start from Lando Norris saw him slip down two-places into fifth. Mercedes' George Russell nipped up to third with Fernando Alonso close behind him in fourth. Meanwhile, it was not a good start for Lewis Hamilton as he was overtaken by Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap, leaving him in 14th and a lot of ground to make up. READ MORE IN F1 MARGA MIA Norris goes public with on-off girlfriend Margarida Corceiro at Hungarian GP By lap three Norris got by Alonso's Aston Martin for fourth while Leclerc was building a lead ahead of Piastri out front. Norris was soon snapping at the heels of Russell in the battle for third, but just couldn't get past the Mercedes driver until he pitted on lap 20. Finally things got spicy when Max Verstappen went for an audacious move on his old rival Lewis Hamilton but the Ferrari driver ran wide. The pair nearly made contact but the Dutchman got ahead and snatched 11th place from the Brit. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK The stewards made note of the incident and Verstappen was under investigation. Lando Norris sprayed the gravel with two wheels before he was urged to 'keep the focus' by his race engineer Will Joseph. Piastri was over eight seconds ahead of his teammate by lap 45 with Norris closing in and setting a new fastest lap time to eat into the gap between them. The Aussie was dwindling and pitted before remerging and hunting down Leclerc until he left him for dust on lap 51. Norris was the only driver ahead of him now, rolling the dice with the one-stop strategy until the end. Leclerc was left livid at his team for letting first-place fall from their clutches and fumed on the radio: "This is so incredibly frustrating. We have lost all competitiveness, you just have to listen to me. "I would have found a different way of managing those issues. "Now it's just undriveable. It's a miracle if we finish on the podium." Piastri hunted Norris on his fresh tyres with just over three-seconds separating them with 10-laps to go. Russell was left seething as Leclerc twice moved over to the right as Russell tried to dive down the inside to overtake with the two nearly making contact. Russell was fuming on the radio demanding a penalty for the Monegasque driver and the stewards investigated. Fans were licking their lips at the battle between Norris and Piastri at the front, as the two McLarens lapped 12th place Hamilton who finished where he started. 6 Norris' girlfriend Margarida Corceiro was in Hungary to watch him win Credit: PA 6 Leclerc started on pole but fumed at his Ferrari team after dropping to fourth Credit: AP