Norris hands Piastri first victory after McLaren team orders row

For Oscar Piastri, taking his debut Formula One victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix will be a moment long to savour, yet it was one that for his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, could not have been more painful, secured through the gritted teeth of the British driver who was forced to concede a potential win by playing the team game. Pleasure and pain then in an enormously entertaining Fisoap opera in Budapest.

- Giles Richards

McLaren took a one-two at the Hungaroring in a fascinating examination of the complexities of managing the fiercely competitive urges of drivers, of the needs of the team, of fairness, of whether a sense of comradeship might be engendered between the clashing of egos across a garage. For all the emphasis in F1 on mechanical prowess, what played out was an all too human tale. Who, after all, would find it easy to give up such a victory? Team orders are nothing newin F1, nor are they necessarily obeyed, as Sebastian Vettel demonstrated in the 'Multi-271' incident at Malaysia in 2013 to take a controversial victory. Vettel was ruthless at the time, a trait that came to be admired by his team and one shared by countless champions. Doubtless these were factors going through Norris's mind, not least given recent accusations the British driver is not steely enough to be a champion.