“One of the most subdued first-time winner’s radio I’ve ever heard. Utterly horrible race management from McLaren once again, denying the Australian the pure and unbridled jubilation he should have felt”, wrote Will Buxton on X after McLaren’s driver management and race strategy almost cost Oscar Piastri his first win. Subsequently, the world saw no celebration by the Aussie, despite this being his first GP win ever.

After this Sunday, there have been many questions about the Zak Brown and Andrea Stella-led British team and whether they are doing enough to handle the sudden glory that has come their way. Many argue that the Woking-based team has not been able to shed its mid-field mentality as yet.

McLaren’s mistake at the Hungarian Grand Prix can cost them dearly

Last Sunday, McLaren had inadvertently handed Lando Norris the lead by pitting him before race leader Oscar Piastri at the final round of stops. This is where the issue began. Before this, Oscar had comfortably led the race from lap 1, beating his teammate and the might of Max Verstappen in the run-up to Turn 1. Towards the end, when Lando was leading and Oscar was behind him, the drivers were not at fault for their reality.

They were now put in a lusty position where the former was tempted to win a second race in his career, and the Aussie wanted to win his first. The last laps saw an unexpected drama unfold and Norris began arguing on the radio, unwilling to concede the position. This left Piastri asking his team to reinstate the position that he lost due to their strategic fault.

Norris eventually agreed to the team’s request to swap places with three laps to go and let Piastri through for a maiden Grand Prix victory. The almost sad reaction of Piastri sparked a debate about whether McLaren should now pull up their socks.

Buxton wrote, “I argued in Austria McLaren had to choose a number one and back them. Then it was over one point in the sprint. Today, on a day when Verstappen failed to finish on the podium, the tough choice, but the right choice for the championship, would have been a Norris win.”

He also explained what went wrong with McLaren’s race. He wrote, “Once again, poor pit wall decisions led to McLaren putting their drivers in unacceptable positions of having to make the calls for themselves on track. Don’t want Lando in the lead? Don’t give him the undercut. A wholly unnecessary mess. The team has to get itself together.“

But while that is the verdict fans and experts across the globe agree with, let us look at what the team boss said in their defense and why they should not be stuck with the glass-half-full approach.

McLaren boss looks at the bigger picture but he shouldn’t ignore the wake-up call

When Lando refused to give up his lead, his race engineer came up with an emotional angle, which also appeared to be an ultimatum or blackmail. The message was that Lando could not win a championship alone without the support of his team and teammate. This seemed to have moved an unrelenting Norris, and he slowed down so that the world could hear the Australian national anthem.

In an interview with Sky Sports F1 shortly after the chequered flag, McLaren team boss Stella was asked about the events that unfolded at Hungaroring. He said, “We are in this trajectory together. None of us, the team, Lando, Oscar, can go alone…. With race drivers, you need to refresh this message, that’s why we have this meeting every Sunday. We are extremely pleased by how our drivers are supporting the trajectory of McLaren, which is incredible. For me, that’s the news today.”

He also asserted that their dominance is what they are taking back from this weekend, stating, “The message is that there’s a P1 and P2 in qualifying, P1 and P2 in the race. I would like to thank and praise all the work of the men and women at McLaren to make this possible.”

While this sure is an occasion to celebrate for the Papaya team and Army, Will Buxton’s warnings should be taken very seriously by the team management. A situation like the events of the Hungaroring can cause a loss of trust among the drivers and the team. It won’t be long before it turns into a Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg kind of rivalry. Let us face it, both drivers on the team are exceptionally talented and it is hard to establish a number one. But heavy is the head that wears the crown and currently, the British team sits atop the most coveted throne.