"You're gonna need Oscar and the team"- McLaren's stern team radio to Lando Norris

McLaren faced a seemingly tough situation with Lando Norris during the final stages of the 2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix as they asked him to switch positions with Oscar Piastri. Norris was leading the race at the time with his teammate in P2.

After locking out the front row, McLaren were in a strong position from the very first lap. Pole sitter Norris lost his spot to teammate Piastri as he engaged in a battle with Drivers' Championship leader Max Verstappen.

While he stayed in P2 for most of the race, the team put Norris on an advantageous strategy that helped him retake the lead. As Piastri exited the pits and took hold of P2, the team told him that Norris would swap positions and give him the lead back. However, when the team asked Norris to switch, he was reluctant.

The team had to ask him on multiple occasions, explaining to him why it was necessary to switch. When he was still reluctant, his race engineer said on the radio (on lap 65 of 70):

"The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it's with a team. You're gonna need Oscar, you'll need the team."

Following this, Lando Norris slowed down on the main straight, and let Oscar Piastri pass through. Piastri ultimately won the first F1 race of his career.

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Oscar Piastri reacts to McLaren's debacle with Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri claimed his first ever F1 win (Image via Getty)

McLaren made the decision to pit Lando Norris first to cover off Lewis Hamilton, who could have been a threat for the race win. Post that, there were tons of radio communications going on between Norris and his race engineer.

Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, did not speak much on his radio. He only indicated once that the situation would get worse as long as the team delayed the switch.

When Nico Rosberg asked Piastri about the situation that was created within the team, he claimed that his pace was not as fast as he expected in the second stint. But he also appreciated the team for the execution of the move.

"I think it was the right thing [to do]. I put myself in the right position at the start and with the different strategy we had, 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. Well executed by the team."

This was McLaren's first 1 - 2 finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Lando Norris was P2 in that race, and Daniel Ricciardo won.