Piastri admits McLaren team orders made him ‘a bit nervous’ as he reflects on ‘very special’ maiden win in Hungary

Oscar Piastri became the eighth-youngest winner in Grand Prix history with victory at the Hungaroring. But the Australian – the first F1 winner to be born inside the 21st century – had to overcome some tense team order calls involving McLaren stable mate Lando Norris to claim his maiden triumph.

Starting P2 on the grid, Piastri reacted brilliantly off the line, resisting the muscling of pole-sitting team mate Norris to lead out of Turn 1, before controlling the early part of the race.

READ MORE: Piastri wins Hungarian Grand Prix as Norris belatedly hands back lead in McLaren intra-team drama

But after McLaren allowed Norris to take the lead by making his second stop ahead of Piastri – to protect against attack from behind – there were tense moments as Norris then appeared to resist calls to let his team mate back in front.

The swap was finally made two laps from the end however – with Piastri going on to add to his Qatar Sprint win from 2023 with his first ever Grand Prix victory, much to the Melbournian’s delight.

“It’s very, very special,” said 23-year-old Piastri. “This is really the day I dreamed of as a kid, standing on the top step of an F1 podium.

“Obviously a bit complicated at the end but I put myself in the right position at the start, and thank you to the team for an amazing effort, and amazing car.

“It’s a hell of a lot of fun racing for McLaren, so I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to be in F1, and to be able to win together 18 months in is an incredible feeling.”

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Asked about the position swap with Norris – who at one point engaged in a heated and emotional debate with race engineer Will Joseph about the ethics of the position change, at a time in the season when Norris is the closest rival to championship lead Max Verstappen, who could only finish P5 after clashing with rival Lewis Hamilton – Piastri said: “The longer you leave it, the more you get a bit nervous.

“But no, it was well-executed by the team and I think it was the right thing; I put myself in the right position at the start and with the different strategy we had – yes, my pace probably wasn't as quick as I would have liked in my last stint, but I was still in the right position to make it happen, so well-executed from the team.

“I’m incredibly happy for the whole team – and nice to get my first one on the board.”

Piastri will now head to the Spa-Francorchamps track where he secured P2 in the Sprint last year – with the Australian saying that McLaren were full of confidence currently, after the team secured their first one-two since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, the two papaya cars having finished almost 15 seconds up the road from closest rival Lewis Hamilton at the Hungaroring.

“[The car is] a beast at the moment – it's fast in every condition,” chuckled Piastri. “I think today, we had it under control completely and an amazing feeling to just be able to manage the race like that with both cars and secure a one-two.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action as Piastri wins the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

“I think we've proven this year that we can be quick in any circuit, any condition – we're always there at the front. Spa's not been the happiest of hunting grounds for us recently but I'm confident we'll be strong.

“We've got a car that's become a real all-rounder, so I'm super-confident and I think the rest of the team should be as well.”

McLaren’s 43 points from Budapest, meanwhile – on a day Red Bull could only score 16 – sees them jump ahead of Ferrari to P2 in the standings, just 51 points behind Red Bull.