Lando Norris says he was "better in every sense" than Oscar Piastri after first win as F1 champion

Lando Norris claimed he was “better in every sense” compared to McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri on his run to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Reigning world champion Norris overcame a poor start from pole position to claim what was ultimately a commanding first victory of the year in an eventful race in Hungary. 

Norris fell behind Piastri on the first lap after running wide at Turn 2 but was clearly the quicker McLaren driver. Piastri pitted first but was delayed by a clash while lapping Carlos Sainz, which enabled Norris to reclaim the lead. 

Piastri ultimately retired from second place with a gearbox failure in the closing stages, but Norris was confident he would have had his team-mate beaten either way. 

“What pleases me the most? Just the fact we were so quick,” the Briton said after the race. 

“I mean, the car was still horrible to drive at times, but quick, and I’d rather have a horrible but quick car than anything else. So, yeah, just the pace. The pace I had the whole race, even behind Oscar at the beginning.

“Of course, it wasn’t my finest Turn 2, but after that, seeing what my pace was like and I was just better in every sense, in terms of degradation and pace. 

"I was convinced I could still win the race, even after that, whether I would box or force him to box and I would go long, get fresh tyres and come back through. So, I was convinced I could win the race today, and we did.

“Of course, it was unfortunate for him and unlucky, because I think we could have had a one-two. But otherwise, just my pace. My pace to stay so close to him for so long. We were just on another level today, and I felt in a very good flow of things. When the car’s good and when I’m in a good flow, there’s no stopping.”

Norris was left frustrated when he was stuck behind Piastri and pleaded with McLaren to allow him to make his second stop first. The team, sticking firmly to its racing rules, refused the world champion’s request. 

“I mean, I just want to win the race, you know?” Norris said of his complaints over team radio. "There are certain rules we have as a team, and we can’t harm each other’s race by being overly aggressive and wanting to win. But I want to win, and I certainly had much better pace than him. We had a much better chance of winning the race, let’s say.

“So, you know, when I was stuck behind Oscar, Max was three or four seconds behind, and at that point he’s still a threat. Ahead, there’s no threat, and we have a lot more of a guarantee that we’ll win as a team anyway. So, I wanted to box and undercut because my pace would have been so good, I could have pulled away a whole pitstop window, I think, on him and boxed again if I needed to. Or I get him to box early.

“I think we were on the fine line between boxing too early and harming both of our races. So, it was just in the best interests of the team, which they rightly have to say back against me. But I want to do whatever I can to try and win a race, of course.”

It marked Norris’s first victory as an F1 world champion. His most recent win prior to that came at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he clinched his maiden drivers’ title.