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Oscar Piastri

Piastri admits nerves during intense Norris-McLaren discussions

Oscar Piastri secured his first Formula 1 victory in the 2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri Norris Hungary
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Race winner Oscar Piastri has conceded he became "nervous" in the closing laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix during McLaren's serious team order discussions with Lando Norris. 

Piastri's route to victory began with tremendous start from second on the grid, as he overtook Lando Norris down the inside in the first corner. 

The Australian built a comfortable gap to Norris behind but required some help from McLaren in the latter stages. Norris pitted before Piastri first in the second round of pitstops to protect him from a fast Lewis Hamilton. 

In doing so, Norris completed an undercut on Piastri after the Australian completed his final pit-stop. 

At first, Norris made life difficult for McLaren by refusing to allow his team-mate past, before accepting team orders and relinquishing the lead to Piastri with a few laps remaining.

"Very, very special," Piastri said of his first win. "This is really the day I dreamed of as a kid standing on the top step of an F1 podium.

"Obviously, a bit complicated at the end, but I put myself in the right position at the start. Thank you to the team for an amazing effort, an amazing car.

"It's a hell of a lot of fun racing with McLaren, so I can't thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to be in F1."

Piastri hails McLaren 'beast'

Piastri's first F1 victory makes him the first Australian to win a race in the pinnacle of motorsport since RB's Daniel Ricciardo won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix – McLaren's last one-two. 

The 23-year-old has bounced back tremendously from a difficult few rounds recently but has looked back to his best in Austria, Britain and now Hungary. 

His victory makes him the 115th F1 race winner, whilst the victory is the 44th by an Australian driver.

"It's a beast [of a car] at the moment, it's fast in every condition," praised Piastri. "I think today we had it under control completely, and it's an amazing feeling to just be able to manage the race like that with both cars and secure the one-two. 

"I don't know when the last one-two was, but I think it's a long time ago. So incredibly happy for the whole team and it's nice getting my first win on the board."

The end of the race was not simple for Piastri or the Woking-based team. It took several laps and countless radio messages for Norris to allow Piastri to pass along the start/finish straight. 

Whilst it looked stressful from the outside, Piastri praised McLaren for how it dealt with the situation.

"The longer you leave it, of course, you get a bit nervous," conceded Piastri. "But no, it was well executed by the team and I think it was the right thing. 

"I put myself in the right position at the start and with a different strategy we had, yes, my pace probably wasn't as quick as I would have liked in the last stint. 

"But I was still in the right position to make it happen. So yeah, well executed from the team."

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