Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
McLaren were not alone in ordering their drivers to revert positions in Hungary, but Lance Stroll did not listen to his Aston Martin team.
McLaren’s main priority was to maintain their lead position, implementing team orders to secure a one-two finish. However, these instructions nearly transformed a typical race to the finish line into a highly debated controversy.
Lance Stroll silent on Fernando Alonso yield demand
After leading the race for McLaren, Oscar Piastri lost his position to team-mate Lando Norris during the second round of pit-stops. McLaren tactically undercut Piastri, allowing Norris to take the lead temporarily, but with instructions to yield the position back to Piastri. Surprisingly, Norris disregarded the team’s order and held his ground for about 20 laps.
Norris ultimately obliged, allowing Piastri to take his first Grand Prix win, but Stroll was not so cooperative down at Aston Martin when they told him to yield P10 and the final point to team-mate Fernando Alonso.
During a radio conversation that was not aired on TV, Stroll’s race engineer Andrew Vizard repeatedly asked Stroll to let Alonso pass and secure the tenth position before the race ended.
The first request came, stating, “You must switch back now, Fernando is four seconds behind you, and there is no pressure behind.” However, it was met with silence.
“Lance, I recommend you fall behind and let Fernando pass. He’s trailing by four seconds,” Vizard urged once more. However, Stroll remained silent, offering no response.
With that final message from Vizard, Stroll’s window to let Alonso through disappeared, allowing him to claim the final point available in Hungary.
Key talking points from a dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris’ indecision turns Oscar Piastri pandemonium into sour McLaren moment
Revealed: Every word exchanged between furious Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase
The Aston Martin drivers chose not to discuss the team orders snub after the race. However, Alonso, who began the race on the soft tyre and made his first pit stop on Lap 7, expressed his belief that the wrong strategy was selected.
“After the race, it is obvious to say that the strategy employed today was not the right one,” he remarked.
“I believe we made a pit stop on Lap 7, and attempting to complete 63 laps with only one set of medium tires followed by one set of hard tires was overly optimistic.”
“So, the pace was not great and the strategy did not provide any assistance.”
Sitting P5 in the Constructors’ Championship, Aston Martin must keep a close eye on VCARB a position and just 36 points behind after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Read next – Hungarian Grand Prix driver ratings: Max Verstappen hit with worst score after Hungary nightmare
