The fans in Budapest witnessed one of the most nerve-racking F1 races of this season. While McLaren mediated a fight between its two racers, former rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went at it for P3. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s other racer, Sergio Perez, tried to save his job by climbing into the top 10 after starting the race from the 16th spot on the grid. In the middle of all this, the world saw Lando Norris give up the second Grand Prix victory of his career just to make sure his young teammate Piastri got his maiden win.

But Lando did not find it easy to concede the lead of the pack to Piastri. From lap 50/70, McLaren started asking the Briton to swap places with his teammate since the 23-year-old was leading up for the majority of the race. But Norris is currently second only to Max Verstappen in the World Championship. If, somehow, he manages to get past the Dutchman, it would mean an F1 title win for him. In this situation, he knew he needed the 7 extra points that would come if he refused to give away the Hungarian GP win.

After an internal battle, in which his engineer Will Joseph asked him to concede to Oscar, Lando finally agreed. The Belgian-British racer made his way to the cooldown room after the race was over. There, he met with his fellow podium holder Lewis Hamilton. Watching the repeat telecast of the race, the seven-time World Champion exclaimed at the sheer speed of the MCL38. He said, “Phew! You guys are fast.” To this, Lando replied, “You had a fast car 7 years ago…” This led to the start of a slight argument between the two.

When Norris mentioned the form of Mercedes 7 years ago, Lewis Hamilton picked at how the young talent was not even around at that time. The Silver Arrows racer asked, “7 years ago? Long time. Were you here seven years ago?” This managed to ruffle Lando Norris’ feathers as he said, “You had a quick car, and now it’s us.” In the end, Hamilton called a truce, saying, “I wasn’t complaining, I was complimenting your car.”

But what did the Hungarian GP winner Oscar Piastri have to say about the McLaren challenger’s speed?

Oscar Piastri admires the “beast” McLaren MCL38

The Hungaroring, with its lack of long straights and a hot, stifling climate, is a circuit where winning is a daunting task. And McLaren did not just get one of its recruits to win in Budapest but the team finished its weekend with a 1-2 finish for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Naturally, every onlooker praised the team for developing the car that has even taken on the mighty Red Bull RB20. Speaking on this, Oscar Piastri exclaimed “[The car] is a beast at the moment, fast in every condition. To secure a 1-2, I don’t know when our last 1-2 was, but a long time ago.”

It was 1999 when two racers from the same team clinched the top 2 spots in Hungary. Now, history has repeated itself after 25 years, thanks to McLaren. Not just that, the team has also gone past Ferrari in the World Constructors’ Championship to end up in P2. Now, the gap to Red Bull stands at just 51 points. With 11 races remaining on the roster for this season, it does look like the papaya army might go back to Woking with a giant trophy if the team manages to deliver a couple more performances just like the one they did today.

But Red Bull knows where its strengths lie. The hotter climates favor McLaren while the upcoming race in Belgium will take place amongst the hills in Spa. Do you think Zak Brown‘s recruits, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, will be able to take on their rivals even in the cold temperatures at the Belgian GP? Share your opinions in the comments below.