Dramatic crash between Verstappen and Hamilton as Piastri takes win at Budapest

The starting grid saw Lando Norris take the lead from pole position, with his teammate right behind him.

Max Verstappen started third but quickly overtook the pole sitter, who also lost a position to his teammate into Turn 1. After the first lap, Piastri was leading, followed by Verstappen and Norris.

On Lap 4, Red Bull instructed Verstappen to give the position back to Norris following the controversial overtake at Turn 1, putting him back on the hunt for second place.

Piastri, meanwhile, kept extending his lead lap after lap, increasing the gap to Norris to three seconds as the first pit stops approached.

A slightly slow pit stop cost Verstappen his position to Hamilton, but the Dutchman tried to regain it on lap 35 by attempting an outside pass at Turn 2—only to run wide due to understeer in his RB21, as he appeared visibly frustrated with his car over the radio, complaining about a car that is struggling compared to his championship rivals.

Surprisingly, McLaren called Norris in for his final pit stop before Piastri, as they usually do with the race leader. Norris emerged ahead of his teammate but was soon instructed by the team to give the position back in the coming laps.

On Lap 63 came the race’s real highlight. In an attempt to overtake Lewis Hamilton for a podium spot, Verstappen collided with his big rival from the 2021 season—but both managed to continue their races.

On the third-to-last lap, Norris let Piastri through, handing the Australian his first-ever Formula 1 victory. Lewis Hamilton finished third, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen rounding out the top five.