McLaren capped off the first half of the 2025 F1 season in style with a dominant 1-2 finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, prompting CEO Zak Brown to hail the performance as “about as close to perfect as you can get.”
Lando Norris took victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, with the team’s split-strategy approach proving decisive. Norris, running an alternate one-stop strategy, held off a late push from Piastri, who had been second behind Charles Leclerc in the early stages but was held up after his second stop.
“It’s a great way to go into the summer break,” said Brown. “The drivers were awesome, the pit stops were amazing — two stops at 1.9 seconds, just a tenth off our all-time record. The strategy was great. I couldn’t be prouder of this racing team.”
It was McLaren’s seventh 1-2 finish of the season, highlighting their dominance, and Brown praised the maturity of both drivers for managing the tense finish cleanly.
“They know what they are doing. They know the rules of engagement. They haven’t put a wheel wrong,” he added. “This time Lando came out on top — next time, it could be Oscar. It just shows how evenly matched they are.”
Piastri’s only clear opportunity came late in the race, but a small lock-up while chasing Norris ended his hopes of a late overtake. Despite that, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella emphasised that both drivers performed at the highest level.
“Lando and Oscar are driving at a very high level,” said Stella. “Lando benefited from more clean air. Oscar had to fight behind Leclerc, which cost him. But both executed their races with excellence.”
The result strengthens McLaren’s position in both championships and sets up a tantalising second half of the season, with Charles Leclerc and George Russell still looming threats.
“It’s going to be a very entertaining and interesting final part of the season,” Stella added. “But for now, we’re proud of how we’re honouring Formula 1 racing with two drivers who are pushing each other to the limit — fairly and brilliantly.”
McLaren head into the summer break with serious momentum — and perhaps the strongest driver pairing on the grid.
