George Russell claimed an unexpected third-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, capitalising on Charles Leclerc’s late-race penalty as Lando Norris secured victory following a tense strategic battle with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
The Mercedes driver, who started fourth on the grid, inherited the final podium position after stewards penalised Leclerc with a five-second time penalty for erratic driving during their wheel-to-wheel combat. Russell’s result marked a welcome return to form for Mercedes heading into Formula 1’s summer break.
“Really happy with the race today. Qualifying was a bit of a surprise, this whole weekend has been a bit surprising for everyone,” Russell reflected after securing his first podium since the Canadian Grand Prix. “So happy to be back on the podium. It’s certainly better than the races we’ve recently had.”
Fierce Battle with Leclerc
The British driver provided detailed insight into his intense duel with the Ferrari driver that ultimately resulted in Leclerc’s costly penalty. The pair engaged in multiple exchanges throughout the middle stint, with Russell executing what he described as “divebomb” manoeuvres to challenge for position.
“It was a bit dicey with Charles at some points,” Russell explained. “When you commit to a bit of a divebomb, if the driver in front moves you are already right on the limit of grip and there’s not much room to manoeuvre.”
The Mercedes driver confirmed physical contact occurred between the two cars during their battle. “I think we made contact the second time. Just glad to get through it and a nice way to go into the break,” he added, acknowledging the risks involved in their aggressive racing.
McLaren’s Strategic Masterclass
Norris’s victory came after a remarkable recovery drive from fifth position on the opening lap, with the British driver executing an audacious one-stop strategy that delivered his fourth win of the 2025 season. The unconventional tyre gambit saw him complete a mammoth 39-lap stint on hard tyres, ultimately finishing 0.698 seconds ahead of team-mate Piastri.
“We weren’t really planning on the one-stop but after the first lap it was kind of our only option to get back into things,” Norris revealed post-race, visibly exhausted from the physical demands of the extended stint.
The victory significantly reshuffled the championship standings, with Norris closing the gap to just nine points behind championship leader Piastri. The result marks McLaren’s continued dominance at the Hungaroring, where they have now secured multiple podium finishes.
Drama in the Closing Stages
The race’s dramatic conclusion saw Piastri launch a desperate attempt to overtake his team-mate on the penultimate lap. The Australian locked his tyres attempting an inside move, barely avoiding contact before running wide. The failed overtaking manoeuvre left him nearly a full second behind, ultimately crossing the line 0.6 seconds adrift of victory.
“I’m dead. I’m dead. It was tough,” an evidently drained Norris admitted over team radio, highlighting the physical toll of his strategic gamble.
Russell, watching footage of the near-miss with the McLaren drivers after the race, displayed his characteristic humour. Observing Piastri’s ambitious move on Norris, he joked: “Why didn’t you T-bone him, that would have been great!”
Ferrari’s Qualifying High, Racing Low
The weekend had started promisingly for Ferrari, with Leclerc stunning the paddock by claiming pole position ahead of the dominant McLarens. The Monegasque driver had delivered a masterful lap in changing conditions during Saturday’s qualifying, securing Ferrari’s first pole position of the 2025 season.
However, Sunday’s race told a different story. Leclerc’s penalty for unpredictable conduct whilst battling Russell demoted him to fourth place, compounding Ferrari’s disappointment after Lewis Hamilton finished a lowly 12th following what he described as a “difficult” weekend.
The penalty intensified an already challenging Hungarian weekend for the Scuderia, with Hamilton having endured his third consecutive Q2 elimination and delivering what sources described as an “astonishing self-deprecating rant” following Saturday’s qualifying session.
Looking Ahead to the Summer Break
Russell’s podium provides Mercedes with positive momentum heading into the four-week summer break. The team had reverted to their old suspension specification for the Hungarian weekend, a decision that appeared to pay dividends with Russell qualifying fourth and maintaining strong race pace throughout.
“The last god knows how many seasons have been hard in their own way,” Hamilton reflected on his challenging start to life at Ferrari. “This one has definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective. Integrating into a new culture and into a new team. It’s not gone smoothly in all areas, and it’s been a real battle.”
The seven-time world champion added: “I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids, laugh, let go. I’m sure there’ll be some tears at some point and I think that’s really healthy.”
Championship Implications
With Norris’s victory and Max Verstappen finishing ninth after starting eighth, the championship battle has tightened considerably. Piastri maintains his lead but faces increasing pressure from his team-mate, whilst Verstappen’s Red Bull continues to struggle with balance issues that have plagued them throughout the weekend.
The result marks McLaren’s sixth 1-2 finish of the season, their best tally since 1988, underlining the Woking team’s remarkable resurgence under team principal Andrea Stella.
As Formula 1 heads into its summer break, the championship remains finely poised with McLaren emerging as the dominant force and Mercedes showing signs of recovery, whilst Ferrari and Red Bull face significant challenges to address before racing resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix.
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Image Credit:
This is a licensed photograph used in cropped form:
- George Russell, British GP 2022 (cropped) – Description: George Russell, British GP 2022 (52381430692) (cropped).jpg; photo by Jen Ross, taken at Silverstone Circuit on 30 June 2022 at 18:40, extracted and cropped from the original image depicting the 2022 British Grand Prix. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
