Oscar Piastri questions McLaren’s race strategy in Budapest: “Focus on beating Lando, not Leclerc”. Oscar Piastri voices frustration with McLaren’s Hungary GP strategy.

Oscar Piastri critical of McLaren’s Hungary GP strategy: “I don’t care about Charles Leclerc, I want to beat Lando Norris”

Australian Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri expressed his frustration with McLaren’s strategic choices during the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, particularly with the decision to shadow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, which he felt compromised his battle against teammate Lando Norris.

At the end of the first lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix held at the Hungaroring, Oscar Piastri found himself virtually 24 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the World Championship standings. The Australian driver was running in second place, right behind Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris had dropped to fifth position after a chaotic entry into Turn 1 that saw him overtaken by both Mercedes driver George Russell and Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso.

However, by the time the checkered flag waved to end the race, it was Lando Norris who surprisingly crossed the finish line first. The British driver masterfully executed a one-stop pit strategy, a bold approach that was largely dictated by his position on track after the first lap incident. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri had to settle for second place, finishing as the best among the group of drivers who completed two pit stops during the race.

McLaren had opted to mirror the race strategy of Charles Leclerc for Oscar Piastri, effectively locking the Australian into a two-stop plan. This approach ultimately paid off in terms of overtaking the Monegasque driver once his Ferrari SF-25 began to suffer from a noticeable performance drop in the second half of the race. However, Piastri made it clear that he was not pleased with the decision.

The Australian driver, who had clearly understood what Lando Norris’s plan was during the race, did not hide his dissatisfaction with being tasked to closely follow Charles Leclerc’s race rather than focus on defeating his direct championship rival and teammate. In a revealing and tense team radio exchange with his race engineer Tom Stallard, Oscar Piastri made his priorities very clear.

Stallard told him: “Oscar, Leclerc will be about four to five seconds ahead of our pit window. We suggest you box this lap.” Piastri immediately fired back with a direct and defiant response: “I don’t care about Charles Leclerc. I just want the best chance to beat Lando. That’s the most important thing right now.”

This sentiment was later echoed in his post-race interviews, where Oscar Piastri reiterated his frustration with how the race strategy played out and emphasized that his main focus was on battling Norris, not reacting to Ferrari’s decisions.

Despite his objections during the Grand Prix, the Australian did ultimately follow the team’s strategy instructions, pitting when advised and then launching a strong but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to chase down Norris on track. The result means that McLaren continues to dominate the 2025 Formula 1 season, but also highlights the growing intra-team rivalry between the two young drivers.

Looking ahead to the second part of the season after the summer break, the dynamic within the McLaren Formula 1 team is becoming increasingly competitive. The message from Hungary is crystal clear: the battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is now a direct one in every strategic and performance-related aspect of the race. The fight for supremacy within McLaren is intensifying, and the stakes are only going to get higher as the season progresses.