Sir Lewis Hamilton secures historic 200th podium in Hungary
- Damian Hall
- Jul 21, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2024
21st July 2024
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri wins first-ever Grand Prix after team orders Lando Norris to give track position
SEVEN-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in 3rd place, extending his record for the most podiums in Formula One to an impressive 200, writes Damian Hall.
The Mercedes driver started the race in 5th on medium (yellow-striped) compound tyres, gaining positions by turn 2. He was also the first of the front runners to pit, doing so on lap 17 for the hard (white-striped) tire compound, and again on lap 41 for another set of hards.
This alternate strategy ultimately proved to be the wrong one, and saw Hamilton having to fend off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for much of the race. Verstappen, like many others, opted for the more proven medium-hard-medium strategy from last year.
The two eventually collided at turn 1 on lap 63 after a late lunge by Verstappen caused him to lock up and, as Hamilton turned in, they made contact. This sent the Red Bull driver partially airborne. Verstappen went on to finish 5th.
Talking after the race, Hamilton reflected on the incident: “He sent it up the inside; I stayed still. I think it’s a racing incident.”
When asked about his overall race, he added: “Big thanks to the amazing crowd this weekend, and a huge congrats to McLaren for their 1-2. That’s my old original family.”
After the results in Hungary, Hamilton has moved up two positions to 6th in the Drivers’ Championship.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri achieved his first Grand Prix win after a tension-filled race. Starting from 2nd, behind teammate Lando Norris, he had an amazing start. He immediately took the lead and commanded the pace for most of the race until a pit stop call was made to protect his teammate.
Traditionally, the leading car in the race is given preference during pit stops. However, the team decided to pit Norris first to protect him from a potential strategic advantage from their rivals. As a result, Norris ended up ahead of Piastri after the latter’s pit stop.
In the closing stages of the race, the team asked Norris to give back the position. A lengthy conversation could be heard over Norris’ radio, explaining the importance of team over self.
Eventually, the drivers swapped positions on lap 68 – two laps short of the finish line.
Post-race, Piastri said of his inaugural GP win: “[The race was] very, very special. This is really the day I dreamed of as a kid. Standing on the top step of an F1 podium.” He went on to thank his team “for an amazing car, [and] an amazing race.” Piastri became the 7th race winner this season.
Teammate Norris finished 2nd after a disappointing start, losing command of the race before turn 1 and then having to relinquish the lead to his younger teammate.
When asked about the driver swap after the race, Norris simply commented: “The team asked me to do it, and I did it.”
Formula One moves onto Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium from July 26-28 before the summer break.
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