Contained joy. On lap 46, Piastri was relentless, leading the race with authority, which had been in his favor from the start. However, in an inexplicable attempt to defend against Hamilton (unnecessary), who was running third but far behind, McLaren undercut themselves and allowed Lando Norris to come out ahead of Piastri. The anxiety within the team was evident. There was a serious problem. The orders seemed clear: Norris had to let Piastri pass if he had the opportunity, but convincing the Briton to do so was not an easy task.
"You won't win the championship alone. You will need Oscar and the team. Please, do it now", they ordered Norris over the radio as he tried to play dumb to keep the lead and Piastri, who had managed to pull away at times, was gradually closing in.
Ultimately, with four laps to go, Norris yielded, and it was the Australian who led a McLaren one-two in Hungary, where Verstappen, on a disastrous day, finished fifth, Sainz sixth, and Alonso missed out on points (11th) after letting his teammate Stroll pass to try to overtake Tsunoda in the final laps.
Everything was truly in McLaren's hands from the beginning. It was a unique opportunity to crown themselves and add excitement to a championship led by Verstappen with his authority. They had achieved the most difficult, something possibly unimaginable until recently, but they were very aware of all the arsenal waiting behind them for a slip-up to take the throne.
It was not an easy task for Red Bull. Not at all. The reigning champion attacked from the first minute. He could not wait. With a slightly lagging Norris, the Dutchman went wide in the first corner to overtake, but facing a possible penalty from the FIA, he had to reluctantly give back that second position, while Piastri took the lead. But he was not the only one fighting alone against the danger. Hamilton also did, opting for an undercut to catch and overtake Red Bull.
Verstappen tried to seek revenge later by putting pressure on the seven-time champion. Power against power. Engine against engine. A battle that the Briton won in the first skirmish when a mistake by Max in completing the overtake allowed Hamilton to stay ahead. The frustration of the Dutchman reached its peak when Leclerc and the Englishman pitted early to force him to play catch-up.
The other contenders for the throne were the two Ferraris. Both Sainz, who had a poor start that pushed him back from the front row, and his teammate fought against adversity. The Monegasque held on as much as possible to maintain fourth place, but Verstappen only had revenge against Hamilton in mind. It happened on lap 63. They met again, but this time he overshot turn 1 and, locking up, collided with Hamilton while trying to overtake him.
Aston Martin once again fell short. Fernando Alonso, without race pace at any point, failed to hold onto his initial seventh position and finished the race in eleventh place. In reality, his position would have been tenth, the last one with points, but in the final stretch, he let his teammate, Lance Stroll, who had fresher tires and the chance, although it didn't materialize, to overtake Tsunoda.
Sergio Pérez also managed to make up for the incident on Saturday that relegated him to the back of the grid. A commendable seventh place for the Mexican after a truly challenging weekend.