Lando Norris is brimming with confidence after the Hungarian GP! The reigning world champion put his McLaren on pole position on Saturday and fought his way to his first victory of 2026 in an entertaining race. At the start, he had to give up the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri, but afterwards Norris was convinced he could outpace his teammate in every aspect. Ultimately, he overtook the Australian during the second pit stop.
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Norris lost the lead to Piastri at the start after going wide in turn two. However, the Brit soon became increasingly convinced that his pace was higher than that of his teammate. After Piastri’s first pit stop, the Australian got caught in traffic, losing a lot of time behind backmarker Carlos Sainz. After Norris had driven a few laps longer in clean air, he also dived into the pit lane and rejoined the track ahead of his teammate. From there, the 26-year-old driver cruised unchallenged to victory.
‘Better in every aspect’
“The fact that we were so fast is what pleases me the most,” the McLaren driver said afterwards during the official FIA press conference. “I mean, the car was still sometimes terrible to drive, but it was fast,” he grinned. “I’d rather have a difficult but fast car than anything else. So yes, especially the pace was good, even when I was behind Oscar (Piastri, ed.) at the start.”
“Of course, turn two wasn’t very pretty, but after that I saw what my pace was,” he reflected on the moment he lost the lead. “After that, I was better in every aspect: in terms of tire wear and speed. I was convinced I could still win the race. Whether I would pit earlier, try to undercut him, or stay out longer and get new tires later: I believed I could win today. And we did.”
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One-two for McLaren?
Although Norris was disappointed that Piastri could not finish the race, he kept emphasizing that his own speed was ultimately decisive. Piastri’s chances of a good result faded when his gearbox failed on lap 56. “Of course, it was a shame for him, because I think we could have scored a one-two. But beyond that, my pace was simply decisive; we were on another level today and I was in a great flow. When the car is good and I’m in a good flow, there’s little anyone can do against me.”
During the race, Norris already asked his team if he could pit earlier in hopes of completing an undercut. McLaren did not agree, much to the Brit’s frustration. “I just want to win the race, you know?” he said about the incident. “We have certain rules within the team and we’re not allowed to ruin each other’s race by being too aggressive and wanting to win at all costs. But I want to win, and I clearly had a much better pace than him.”
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