McLaren turned a front-row lockout into a 1-2 podium finish at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, though not necessarily in everyone’s preferred order. Former F2 and F3 Champion Oscar Piastri stood atop the podium for the first time as an F1 Grand Prix winner (Piastri previously won the 2023 Qatar Sprint Race). A call to pit Norris ahead of Piastri created late drama when Lando was given team orders to let Oscar pass and settle for P2. A frustrated Verstappen saw his podium hopes vanish late after a collision with Hamilton dropped Max down to P5 and elevated Hamilton to P3, which is the 200th podium for Sir Lewis!

After Norris lost the lead to his teammate on Lap 1 (McLaren says due to a glitch), things were bound to get spicy when McLaren made the decision to pit Norris ahead of Piastri. “We’d like to re-establish the order… at your convenience”, came Will Joseph’s voice over the radio — the first of many pleas from Lando’s race engineer to let Piastri by. From bizarrely detailed asks to conserve tires to downright guilt-trips, we were taken on an agonizing journey listening to Norris, who only recently claimed his first Grand Prix victory, give up his potential second. There will be a lot of opinions on whether that was the right decision for Lando or McLaren, but so far the team has managed to keep the peace.

• The real problem behind McLaren’s team orders controversy. (The Race)

• Did McLaren almost ruin Oscar Piastri’s maiden win. (F1Unchained)

• McLaren’s success may force a revision of their number one driver policy. (Crash)

• Jolyon Palmer with the receipts on how McLaren’s pitstops could’ve gone differently. (Formula 1)

Team radio messages were the star of the show in Hungary, none more so than those between Verstappen, and his long-time race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase. Speculating on Max & GP’s off-air bickering is a favorite pastime around the Trackside offices, but even we were uncomfortable at times. It was a bad omen when the broadcast played Max’s radio message complaining about the rain as the camera settled on Perez’s car in its favorite parking spot along the wall. This was the first of many grievances Max hurled at GP throughout the weekend, complaining about his setup, the team’s strategy, and other drivers. Those messages culminated in GP seemingly admonishing Max as “childish” (Horner denies this was aimed at Max) as Verstappen leveled blame at Hamilton for their late collision. Race Control ultimately ruled it a racing incident, but Max did not agree.

Much has been said as to whether Max and Red Bull are starting to crack under the pressure of a rapidly-improving field. Skeptics will leave Hungary with plenty of evidence to support that notion. Martin and Crofty placed at least some of the blame on Max’s late night sim racing. However, The Race does a tremendous job of breaking down the situation, adding a layer of much-needed nuance to the discussion. Cracking under the pressure or not, in a season that has seen six non-Red Bull drivers become race winners, it’s clear that Red Bull’s dominance is waning. The real question is, is Max losing his 💩 a sign that he’s regaining his edge, or losing it?

The indecision of one Carlos Sainz Jr. (ahem) has left teams with hope that he may yet fill their open seat. Haas wanted everyone to know that they are still interested by making it official that Kevin Magnussen will be leaving the team at the end of 2024. With open seats at Haas, Mercedes, Williams, Alpine, Kick/Sauber/Audi, and RB, plus the looming threat of Perez losing his seat, we are in for a wild summer break in the driver market.

• Everyone’s favorite unofficial Red Bull spokesperson, Helmut Marko, says that the team will focus on internal promotions if Perez is replaced, seemingly shutting down Sainz chances at joining Max next season. (PlanetF1)

• Williams Team Principal, James Vowels, shares the obvious things he’s looking for in his next driver. (Crash)

• Antonelli downplays his F1 chances and rumors of him joining Mercedes continue. (ESPN)

• With K-Mag out, what can we expect from Haas, Ollie Bearman, and who should join him in 2025. (Formula1)

• A great rundown of Kevin Magnussen’s under the radar contributions to Haas over the years. (The Athletic)

• Andreas Seidl is out at Audi, Mattia Binotto is in, but what are his chances of success? (The Race)

• Alpine set to use Mercedes engines, gearboxes and suspensions as soon as 2025. (Motorsport)

• Constructors reject proposal to extend point scoring beyond the top ten finishers. (ESPN)

While the action on the track was limited, the results represent a shifting of momentum in both the Driver’s and Constructor’s championships. McLaren’s consistency is paying off in narrowing the gap to Max and Red Bull at the top of the standings, and we suspect this won’t be the last you will hear of Lando losing seven points playing the team game. Russell and Perez both had solid recovery drives after separate mishaps in qualifying, bringing in much-needed points in the tightening Constructor’s race.

In the Driver’s Championship, Verstappen continues to lead the way, with Lando’s P2 finish taking 8 more points out of Max’s advantage. Piastri narrows the gap to Sainz to only 5 points, and Hamilton leap frogs Russell take 7th position.

In the Constructor’s Championship, a 1-2 finish, plus continued inconsistency from fellow front-runners, puts McLaren ahead of Ferrari and closes the gap to Red Bull by 25 points.

Next week we are off to Francorchamps, Belgium for the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix at one of our favorite tracks, Spa. Many things that felt settled (Max running away with the Driver’s title, Perez’s future at Red Bull, Sainz’s likely destination) are up in the air as we head into the last race before the summer break. If rumors are to be believed, Spa will be the last chance for many drivers to make a case for their spot in F1, with Perez and Sargeant rumored to be ousted before Zandvoort if results don’t improve. Formula 3 and Formula 2 are also racing at Spa this weekend, where you will be able to get a glimpse of new Haas driver, Ollie Bearman and Mercedes hopeful, Kimi Antonelli. Enjoy the racing while you can, before the F1 Internet becomes nothing but memes about the agony of the summer break!

Until Next Week,