If you tuned into the Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 expecting a standard Sunday drive for Max Verstappen, you probably ended up staring at your screen in disbelief. It was chaotic. Honestly, it was a total meltdown of team radio etiquette and pit wall strategy that left fans arguing for weeks.
Oscar Piastri won. That’s the headline. But how he got there—and the absolute drama involving Lando Norris and a very grumpy Max Verstappen—is what actually matters. The Hungaroring is usually a "Monaco without walls," a place where overtaking is a nightmare. In 2024, it became a psychological battlefield.
The McLaren Team Orders Disaster
McLaren had the fastest car. They locked out the front row. It should have been a dream day for Zak Brown and Andrea Stella. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that played out over global airwaves.
Piastri grabbed the lead at the start. He was faster, smoother, and looked in control. But then McLaren’s strategy team got nervous about Lewis Hamilton undercutting them. They pitted Lando Norris first to "protect" the position. This gave Lando the "undercut," effectively handing him the lead over his teammate.
The next 20 laps were painful to listen to.
"I know you'll do the right thing," the engineer told Lando.
Lando didn't want to do the right thing. He started putting in fastest laps. He opened up a five-second gap. You could feel the tension through the TV. For a good while, it looked like Norris was going to ignore the team entirely. He kept pointing out that he was fighting for a World Championship and every point mattered. He wasn't wrong, technically. But the optics were terrible.
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Eventually, with only a few laps left, Norris slowed down on the main straight and let Piastri through. It was a maiden win for the young Australian, but the celebration felt muted. Piastri deserved a victory lap, not a scripted swap.
Max Verstappen’s Boiling Point
While McLaren was busy arguing with itself, Max Verstappen was busy arguing with everyone else. The Red Bull RB20 wasn't the dominant force we saw in 2023. It looked twitchy. Max looked frustrated.
He spent most of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 complaining about the car's balance and the team's strategy. When his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase (GP), tried to calm him down, Max snapped back. It wasn't the usual banter. It was genuine anger.
Then came the contact.
Max tried a desperate dive down the inside of Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1. He locked up. His rear wheel clipped Hamilton’s front, sending the Red Bull airborne for a split second. It was a classic "Hungaroring lunge" gone wrong. Verstappen fell back to fifth, and the stewards basically told him to settle down.
Why the Hungaroring Heat Changes Everything
The track temperature at the Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 was brutal. We’re talking over 45°C on the asphalt. This matters because the Pirelli tires turn into chewing gum if you push too hard.
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Lewis Hamilton showed why he’s a seven-time champ here. He didn't have the fastest car—the Mercedes was clearly behind the McLarens and arguably slower than the Red Bull in clean air—but he managed his rubber like a surgeon. He held off Max for lap after lap, forcing the Dutchman into the mistake that eventually ended Max's podium hopes.
Hamilton’s P3 was his 200th podium. Think about that. Two hundred times on the steps. It’s a staggering statistic that almost got buried under the McLaren drama.
The Midfield Scramble and Strategy Gambles
Down the order, things were just as weird. Ferrari had a quiet but decent race, with Charles Leclerc finishing fourth, mostly by staying out of trouble while Max and Lewis were tangling.
Aston Martin struggled. Fernando Alonso looked annoyed most of the weekend. The "upgrades" many teams brought to Budapest didn't seem to shake up the hierarchy as much as people expected, other than confirming that McLaren is currently the team to beat on high-downforce tracks.
RB (the team formerly known as AlphaTauri) had a shocker with Daniel Ricciardo's strategy. They pitted him early into traffic, effectively killing his race. It’s those kinds of tactical errors that make or break a season when the points are this tight.
Real Talk: Was it Fair to Lando?
A lot of people think Norris should have kept the win. If you’re a "racing is racing" purist, you hate team orders. But Formula 1 is a team sport with hundreds of millions of dollars in constructor prize money on the line. If McLaren lets their drivers crash into each other or disobey orders, the whole structure collapses.
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The problem wasn't the order; it was the timing. By pitting Norris first, McLaren created a problem that didn't need to exist. They handed him the lead and then begged him to give it back. It was amateur hour from a team that is supposed to be challenging for a title.
What This Means for the Rest of the Season
The Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 proved that the Red Bull era of total dominance is over. Max is beatable. The McLaren is the most versatile car on the grid right now.
But can McLaren manage two "Number 1" drivers?
Piastri is too good to be a sidekick. Norris is too fast to be a pushover. This dynamic is going to get explosive as the points gap narrows.
Actionable Takeaways for F1 Fans
If you're following the season after the chaos in Budapest, keep an eye on these specific factors:
- Watch the Radio Transcripts: Don't just listen to the broadcast snippets. Look for the full team radio leaks after the race. They reveal way more about the driver-engineer relationship than the edited TV version.
- Tire Deg Is King: The 2024 season is being decided by surface temperatures. When the track hits 40°C+, the Red Bull struggles more than the McLaren.
- The "Undercut" Power: In Budapest, the undercut was worth nearly two seconds. In upcoming races like Spa or Monza, it’s less about the pit stop and more about top speed.
- Mental State: Watch Max Verstappen's post-race interviews. His frustration is a lead indicator of how much pressure Red Bull is under behind the scenes.
The Hungarian Grand Prix 2024 wasn't just a race; it was a shift in the power structure of the sport. We saw a new winner, a crumbling dynasty, and a team that forgot how to lead.