At the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, it was Oscar Piastri who claimed first place, with Lando Norris closely following behind, resulting in a remarkable McLaren 1-2 finish.
Lando Norris gaining the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix with a late undercut resulted in some terse radio messages between McLaren and their driver.
McLaren’s strategic choice to bring in Lando Norris for a pit stop ahead of the leader Oscar Piastri during the final rounds led to the British driver taking the lead. This decision created tension as McLaren urgently attempted to switch their positions.
McLaren’s radio messages to Lando Norris revealed
After Piastri had dominated the race in the initial two stints, Norris was strategically brought in before him. The implementation of the undercut allowed the British driver to surpass the Australian and take the lead.
With Norris head in the championship and eager to close down Max Verstappen in the standings, Norris clearly had victory in mind – but McLaren wished to restore the order by moving Piastri back into the position he had earned on merit.
Despite his initial resistance, Norris eventually yielded and made way for his teammate on Lap 68, leaving only three laps left. Upon reviewing all the team radio exchanges between McLaren and their drivers, let’s examine how Norris’ race engineer, Will Joseph, persuaded his driver to comply.
Lap 47:
Tom Stallard, race engineer to Oscar Piastri (TS): “OK Oscar, Lando has pitted to cover Hamilton to make sure he covers Hamilton. We’ll manage that situation, best pace from you now. Best pace.
“Don’t fret about Lando, just focus on maintaining the best pace.”
Lap 48:
Will Joseph, race engineer to Lando Norris (WJ):
“Hey Lando, Oscar has just made a pit stop. It’s expected that he’ll come out right behind you. So, whenever it suits you, we’d like to restore the previous order.”
Lap 49:
WJ: “Lando, still 21 laps after this one. You do have the current fastest lap, look after the tyres.”
Lap 51:
TS: OK Oscar, so, once you get to Lando, we’ll swap positions. We’ll swap position, but we want to avoid Lando having to give up a lot of race time.”
Lap 53:
WJ: “And Lando, radio check, please.
LN: “Yes, loud and clear.”
WJ: “OK, save the tyres at Turn 4 and Turn 11, please.”
Lap 56:
WJ: “We need to save more tyres please, and we do want to let Oscar through.”
LN: “Well you should have boxed him first then, surely no?”
WJ: “Doesn’t matter.”
LN: “I mean, it does. To me maybe.”
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Lap 57:
WJ: “And Lando, we still think you’re using the tyres too much at Turns 4 and 11 and the rears at exit Turn 6 and Turn 9. Oscar is 3.5 [behind] – we know you’ll do the right thing.”
Lap 58:
WJ: “And Lando, Hiroshi is stressed about the tyres.”
Lap 59:
WJ: “Turn 4, Turn 11 – it’s going to get boring.”
Lap 61:
WJ: “OK Lando, 10 laps to go – we think both cars are using their tyres too much. Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we’ve had.”
LN: “Yeah, well tell him to catch up please.”
Lap 64:
WJ: “Lando, he can’t catch you up. You’ve proved your point and it really doesn’t matter.”
LN: “He’s on much quicker tyres. I mean, I would have tried to undercut anyway. If I did, I would have got more.”
WJ: “Mate, we did the stop sequence in this order for the good of the team.”
WJ and LN speak simultaneously, resulting in an incomprehensible sentence.
WJ: “I’m trying to protect you mate, I promise, I’m trying to protect you.”
Lap 66:
WJ: “And Lando, there are five laps to go. The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.”
Lap 67:
OP: “The longer we leave this, the riskier it gets.”
TS: “Understood, Oscar, we’re managing it.”
WJ: “A potential Safety Car now would make this very awkward. Please do it. Now.”
Lap 68: Norris slows down the main straight to release Piastri into the lead
LN: “Yeah, you don’t need to say anything.”
Lap 70: Chequered flag, Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 home for maiden F1 win
TS: “Well done, Oscar, well done. Chequered flag. Well done, buddy. Really good.”
OP: “Yep, thank you, everyone. Thank you very much. Thanks for the coordination. Sorry, I made the swap a little bit more painful than it needed to be. But thank you, I appreciate that. Well done, maximum points, and a really good weekend. Ha. First F1 win, thank you very much, everyone, thanks.”
LN: “Well done, good 1-2, a good load of points. Congrats to the team. Well deserved.”
WJ: “As we said this morning mate, many more opportunities.”
TS: “And you are also Driver of the Day!”
OP: “Ah, a nice little bonus, thank you.”
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