“Every driver is selfish, you have to be in F1”: Lando Norris defends himself after Oscar Piastri fiasco in Hungary

Lando Norris has opened up about the move that saw him hand the Hungarian Grand Prix win to Oscar Piastri at Hungaroring. The McLaren driver obeyed team orders to let Piastri overtake him after a poor call from the Papayas handed him the race lead.

The Hungarian GP was a race to remember for McLaren as they pulled off their first 1-2 finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. It was Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, who came out on top on that occasion. This time, it's Oscar Piastri, another Aussie getting the win.

However, Piastri's win was overshadowed as McLaren ordered Norris to fall back due to a failed pit-stop strategy. This denied Norris a fascinating race win, which would have been his second in his career.

At the same time, it also robbed Piastri of all the excitement that he could have had after winning the race. However, Lando Norris justified his choice amid all the criticism and paddock chatter.

"It's tough but I know what Oscar’s done for me in the past," Norris said in the post race interview. "Yeah, things are a little bit different at the same time I got told to let him past and I did. It’s always tough when you’re fighting for a win and a win means so much to me and also to him. I just had to try and put myself in his shoes.”

"I understand it that way when you're just [there] and every driver's selfish. You know you have to be selfish in this game but when you're just thinking of your own benefits, you're only thinking of good things, but, of course, I put myself in his shoes and realized what I had to do was right."

Thanks to the 1-2, McLaren moved past Ferrari in the Constructors' standings. They are now in P2 with 338 points, compared to Ferrari's 320. Red Bull retain the lead with 389 points.

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Oscar Piastri shows gratitude to McLaren and Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton on the podium of the Hungarian GP (Image via Getty)

Oscar Piastri finally claimed the first race win of his career in his second season in Formula 1. The Australian had claimed a Sprint win already last year, but nothing beats the feeling of a race win. After he took the Checkered Flag, he shared words of gratitude for his team, and teammate Lando Norris.

"[It's] very, very special," Piastri said. "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, and thank you to the team for an amazing effort, and amazing car."

After Sunday's race at Hungaroring, Lando Norris cut his Drivers' standings deficit to Max Verstappen to 76 points. He currently stands in P2 with 189 points, compared to Piastri's 149 points. Max Verstappen continues to lead the championship race with 265 points.