2024 F1 Hungarian GP: Winners and Losers

The 2024 Hungarian GP was an eventful race with drama that would last for a while. The race had McLaren team orders disrupting a lot of things. It had Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton colliding. Most importantly, though, it had Oscar Piastri winning his first F1 race.

The Australian got the jump at the start of the race and never looked back. In P2, Lando Norris begrudgingly gave up the win, while Lewis Hamilton ended P3 after being unscathed in his collision with Verstappen.

As the dust settles and the adrenaline wears off, who's going to be elated at how the Hungarian GP went, and who will be disappointed? Let's find out.

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2024 F1 Hungarian GP

Winner

Oscar Piastri

Not the best way to win a race, but Oscar Piastri would gladly take it. The start was crucial for him, and the pace he had on the first stint was brilliant, and maybe he even had an edge on Norris as well.

Would he have won if McLaren hadn't done the pitstop shenanigans? Probably yes, and that's what the Australian will take from this. He's not the finished product yet, but he's very close.

Loser

McLaren

Every fan and every commentator looked at the undercut McLaren gave to Lando Norris with doubt. The team put their lead driver in a situation where he was forced to give up a win and did that even though he clearly had the pace to win.

If it wasn't for Norris making what could be considered a right or wrong choice from whichever perspective you see it, the entire mismanagement was down to the team on a race weekend where it got its first 1-2 finish since the 2021 Italian GP.

Winner

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton's return to form continues with what was a brilliant drive from the Mercedes driver. He had everything, from aggression to defense in equal measure. He undercut Verstappen early in the Hungarian GP.

Hamilton put together what was a masterclass in defense when he held off Verstappen in the middle stage of the Hungarian GP. Overall, it was a race where the driver showed that he's still one of the elites in F1 and hasn't lost his skills whatsoever.

Loser

Max Verstappen

Petulant is the word that comes to mind when one looks back at Verstappen's race at the Hungarian GP. It was just a throwback to the 2022 Singapore GP, where he was just in the mood where everything annoyed him. It was the same here, with the only difference being the fact that he had a car that could have won the race.

The team radios were annoying, as was the interaction he had with his race engineer, GP. The collision with Hamilton concluded what was basically a train wreck of a weekend. Considering the level at which Verstappen usually performs, he can have one or two of these once in a while.

Winner

Lance Stroll

In case anyone missed it, Lance Stroll finished ahead of Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian GP, and he did it on performance in the car. The Canadian has been under the pump for a long time now, and to see him show up recently and have the measure of his illustrious teammate is impressive.

It also is possibly something Alonso will not take lightly and will look to bounce back from.

Loser

Red Bull

If for a moment, we keep Verstappen's team radio to one side, it was a bad weekend for Red Bull. Not only did the upgrades not give the team what it wanted, but their overall demeanor wasn't the best either.

The biggest issue for the car is its inability to ride the kerbs, and that's what hurt the team. The team needs a regroup and a better No. 2 driver. It will be interesting to see how and if Red Bull can bounce back after a disastrous Hungarian GP.