An emerging world champion shows grace under fire. PETER COSTER reports on the war of words in the Hungarian Grand Prix:
“I always say he is the youngest and wisest member of our team,” were the words of McLaren team boss Andrea Stella after Oscar Piastri won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Melbourne driver not only won the race, but showed the discipline and character that will ensure future victories.
Piastri would have won the race after snatching the lead from teammate and pole sitter Lando Norris on the first corner at the Hungaroring until lap 47 of the 70-lap race.
Norris had been called in for new tyres two laps earlier when it should have been Piastri.
Instead McLaren’s decision to undercut their own driver to protect Norris from being overtaken by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.
That’s not how it usually works. Having reversed priority to Norris, McLaren embarked on an extraordinary conversation over team radio, assuring Piastri that Norris would give the lead back to him.
Norris was reluctant. “Yeah, well tell him to catch up, please,” was the reply and what followed went from allowing Piastri to pass “at your convenience” to warning Norris that he would need the co-operation of his teammate and the McLaren team if he were to win future races.
Here is the astonishing back-and-forth on team radio.
Lap 47:
Tom Stallard, race engineer to Oscar Piastri (TS): “OK Oscar, Lando has pitted to cover Hamilton to make sure he covers Hamilton. We’ll manage that situation, best pace from you now. Best pace.
“Best pace. Don’t worry about Lando.”
Lap 48:
Will Joseph, race engineer to Lando Norris (WJ):
“OK Lando, Oscar has just pitted. He’ll likely come out just behind you. We’d likely to re-establish the order, at your convenience.”
Lap 49:
WJ: “Lando, still 21 laps after this one. You do have the current fastest lap, look after the tyres.”
Lap 51:
TS: OK Oscar, so, once you get to Lando, we’ll swap positions. We’ll swap position, but we want to avoid Lando having to give up a lot of race time.”
Lap 53:
WJ: “And Lando, radio check, please.
LN: “Yes, loud and clear.”
WJ: “OK, save the tyres at Turn 4 and Turn 11, please.”
Lap 56:
WJ: “We need to save more tyres please, and we do want to let Oscar through.”
LN: “Well you should have boxed him first then, surely no?”
WJ: “Doesn’t matter.”
LN: “I mean, it does to me
Lap 57:
WJ: “And Lando, we still think you’re using the tyres too much at Turns 4 and 11 and the rears at exit Turn 6 and Turn 9. Oscar is 3.5 [behind] – we know you’ll do the right thing.”
Lap 58:
WJ: “And Lando, Hiroshi (Hiroshi Imai, director of race engineering) is stressed about the tyres.”
Lap 59:
WJ: “Turn 4, Turn 11 – it’s going to get boring.”
Lap 61:
WJ: “OK Lando, 10 laps to go – we think both cars are using their tyres too much. Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we’ve had.”
LN: “Yeah, well tell him to catch up please.”
Lap 64:
WJ: “Lando, he can’t catch you up. You’ve proved your point and it really doesn’t matter.”
LN: “He’s on much quicker tyres. I mean, I would have tried to undercut anyway. If I did, I would have got more.”WJ: “Mate, we did the stop sequence in this order for the good of the team.”
WJ and LN talk over each other for a sentence – unintelligible.
WJ: “I’m trying to protect you mate, I promise, I’m trying to protect you.”
Lap 66:
WJ: “And Lando, there are five laps to go. The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.”
Lap 67:
OP: “The longer we leave this, the riskier it gets.”
TS: “Understood, Oscar, we’re managing it.”
WJ: “A potential Safety Car now would make this very awkward. Please do it. Now.”
Lap 68:
Norris slows down the main straight to release Piastri into the lead
LN: “Yeah, you don’t need to say anything.”
Lap 70: Chequered flag, Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 home for maiden F1 win
TS: “Well done, Oscar, well done. Chequered flag. Well done, buddy. Really good.”
OP: “Yep, thank you, everyone. Thank you very much. Thanks for the coordination. Sorry, I made the swap a little bit more painful than it needed to be. But thank you, I appreciate that. Well done, maximum points, and a really good weekend. Ha. First F1 win, thank you very much, everyone, thanks.”
LN: “Well done, good 1-2, a good load of points. Congrats to the team. Well deserved.”
WJ: “As we said this morning mate, many more opportunities.”
TS: “And you are also Driver of the Day!”
OP: “Ah, a nice little bonus, thank you.”
Eventually, Norris allowed Piastri to pass as obviously as possible on the main straight with three laps to go.
Understandably F1 drivers are highly competitive and don’t like to give up the lead whether they have inherited it or not.
Piastri is not the only Australian F1 driver to experience it, although Norris obeyed team orders at the end.
Mark Webber was in a similar situation at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2013, Webber was leading when then world champion Sebastian Vettel defied team orders to stay behind his teammate.
Webber, who is now Piastri’s manager reminded Vettel of what was known as Multi-21, the team order agreed to before there race to prevent any likelihood of a crash between drivers.
Norris finally did the team thing, as did Piastri when he was told to box after his lead had been lost under team orders.
Max Verstappen, who finished fifth on Sunday behind Piastri, Norris, Lewis and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari doesn’t have to bother with such dilemmas.
Sergio Perez is usually far back in the field after qualifying mistakes. This time crashing his car heavily.
Piastri was not the only Australian driver to suffer team strategy. Starting ninth, Daniel Ricciardo was brought in too early on lap seven, released in 18th place and finishing 12th.
Piastri might have preferred to win the race without the extraordinary sequence of radio messages that eventually saw Norris give way, but there was another title to go with the Hungarian race victory.
Oscar has proved himself the King of Cool.
At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, he was kept out on slicks while Lando Norris was brought for a tyre change amid a downpour.
Piastri was left out on slicks, eventually finishing fourth. His only complaint, if it was to say it was “a bit painful looking back at how close we were to the win.
In Hungary, he could have indulged in the sort of rant over team radio that saw Max Verstappen arguing heatedly with his pit crew.
In not allowing his temper to get the better of him, Piastri showed the grace under fire that has won so many races for Lewis Hamilton.
Piastri joins Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo as a Grand Prix winner
But Piastri stands as the youngest and just maybe the wisest of them all.
2024 Hungarian Frand Prix Results
21st july 2024
| POS | DRIVER | CAR | TIME/RETIRED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:38:01.989 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | +2.141s |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | +14.880s |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | +19.686s |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | +21.349s |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | +23.073s |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | +39.792s |
| 8 | George Russell | MERCEDES | +42.368s |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | +77.259s |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | +77.976s |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | +82.460s |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | +1 lap |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | +1 lap |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | +1 lap |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | +1 lap |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | +1 lap |
| 17 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | +1 lap |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | +1 lap |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | +1 lap |
| NC | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | DNF |
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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