Carlos Sainz contact costs Oscar Piastri as Lando Norris completes Hungary overcut. Carlos Sainz hits Oscar Piastri during Hungarian GP blue-flag incident.

Carlos Sainz made contact with Oscar Piastri while battling Fernando Alonso during the Hungarian Grand Prix, costing the McLaren driver two crucial seconds and contributing to Lando Norris’s successful overcut. Oscar Piastri narrowly avoided being forced off the circuit after the Williams driver failed to respect the blue flags.

The incident came at a decisive stage of the race. Oscar Piastri had taken the lead from his McLaren teammate on the opening lap, but Lando Norris’s stronger pace and alternative pit-stop strategy eventually brought the two drivers back into direct contention.

Carlos Sainz contact costs Oscar Piastri in Hungary

Oscar Piastri capitalised on a mistake by Lando Norris at Turn 2 on the first lap to move ahead of his teammate and take the lead. Norris, who had already secured a breakthrough Hungarian Grand Prix pole position, nevertheless maintained stronger pace than the Australian during the race.

As the second round of pit stops approached, Lando Norris asked McLaren to leave him on track. The aim was either to attempt an overcut or to create a significant tyre-life advantage for the third and final stint.

Carlos Sainz then made Norris’s task easier. The Williams driver was fighting Fernando Alonso between Turns 2 and 3 when Oscar Piastri approached to lap them. Instead of respecting the blue flags, Carlos Sainz made wheel-to-wheel contact with the McLaren and almost sent Piastri off the circuit.

Oscar Piastri loses two seconds before Lando Norris overcut

Oscar Piastri lost approximately two seconds in the incident, a costly delay at a critical point in the pit-stop sequence. Lando Norris stopped immediately after the contact between Carlos Sainz and Piastri and successfully emerged ahead of his teammate through the overcut.

The incident therefore played a direct role in changing the order between the McLaren drivers. Norris had already benefited from the upgrades introduced by McLaren in Hungary, while the strategic offset allowed him to take advantage of his stronger race pace.

It marked another pivotal moment in a Hungarian Grand Prix weekend during which changing conditions had already helped Lando Norris beat Ferrari to pole.

Video: Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri collide

Watch the Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri incident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.