Lando Norris and Max Verstappen provided a glimpse into their Hungarian Grand Prix races, with Norris securing another podium finish for McLaren and Verstappen claiming a record-breaking victory for Red Bull.
Norris fought his way to second place after starting from third, while Verstappen’s impeccable start and race pace led him to a dominant win.
Despite acknowledging the challenge of beating Red Bull on pace alone, Norris is content with McLaren’s progress and hopeful for future opportunities.
On the other hand, Verstappen expresses delight in his start and the car’s performance, propelling Red Bull to a remarkable 12th consecutive Grand Prix victory.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Lando Norris continued his impressive form at the Hungarian Grand Prix, securing a second-consecutive second-place finish.
Starting from third on the grid, the British driver found himself momentarily behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri as they manoeuvred past polesitter Lewis Hamilton through the opening corners.
However, Norris executed a well-timed pit stop, utilising the powerful undercut to regain the advantage over Piastri.
Reflecting on his race, Norris admitted it had been challenging, stating, “Just yeah, a tough race, not an easy one, especially with Checo [Perez] catching at the end, but he didn’t have enough pace to catch up.
“So, I’m happy, I had to fight for it a little bit in the beginning. I got a bit screwed over in Turn 1, but another podium for us and for McLaren, which is amazing.”
While Norris acknowledges the formidable pace of Red Bull and Max Verstappen, he remains optimistic about McLaren’s progress.
When asked about the possibility of a McLaren win, Norris replied, “If Max [Verstappen] retires or something then maybe, but, at the minute, the guys [Red Bull] are too quick unless they make mistakes or something happens.
“We’re very happy with the progress we’ve made to go from where we were, like four or five races ago, struggling to get out of Q1 to sometimes fighting for poles and fighting for podiums… we’ll take it for now and hopefully, our time will come later in the year.”
Max Verstappen’s race at the Hungaroring was marked by a fantastic start, breaking away from his recent steady starts and managing to get alongside Lewis Hamilton into the first corner.
With a late-braking move, Verstappen secured the position from his former title rival and never looked back.
The Dutch driver expressed his satisfaction with the start, saying, “Finally, we had a really good start, so I’m very happy with that.
“We’ve been working on that quite a bit to try and really get the good bite.
“I knew, of course, when I had the inside, that that corner was mine so… I was just late on the brakes.
“It was a heavy car so, luckily, it all worked out well.
“Basically, from there onwards, I could go do my race.
“And, today, the car was really, really quick.”
After struggling with car handling in qualifying and earlier practice sessions, Verstappen found the car to be impeccable during the race.
The car’s performance allowed him to manage tire wear effectively and create a substantial gap to his competitors.
READ: Sergio Perez makes a bold prediction
Celebrating Red Bull’s record-breaking 12th consecutive Grand Prix victory as a constructor, Verstappen expressed pride in the team’s achievements and their continuous pursuit of perfection.
He said, “12 wins in a row is just incredible. What we’ve been going through the last few years is unbelievable and, hopefully, we can keep this momentum going for a long time.
Just to work with the whole team is always very enjoyable, it’s always good to look into like yesterday, for example, to keep pushing, always wanting to do better, but then a day like today is just perfect.”