Lando Norris secured his first victory of the Formula One season with a commanding performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading McLaren to a third consecutive win at the Hungaroring.
The 26-year-old Briton, who started from pole position, repeated his 2025 triumph at the circuit and became the first driver to convert pole into victory in Hungary since Lewis Hamilton won for Mercedes in 2020.
After crossing the finish line, an elated Norris praised his team over the radio.
"Wooohh! Beautiful. The car was unbelievable today. Well done, guys. Incredible. We're flying!" he said.
"Thank you so much for the car. So nice to be able to do it all for you again. It feels like it's been a while. Congrats! Hard work pays off!"
Norris briefly lost the lead on the opening lap after teammate Oscar Piastri overtook him, but recovered with a series of consistently quick laps before reclaiming the advantage through strategy.
He eventually crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Piastri's race ended in disappointment after retiring on lap 56 with a gearbox failure. The Australian had been running strongly before becoming involved in a collision with Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who received a five-second time penalty for the incident.
Reflecting on his race, Norris admitted he struggled at the start.
"I don't know what happened at the start. I just kept losing the rear. I had two or three big snaps, which felt horrible, and of course Oscar did a good job to get the cutback and go past me," he said.
"I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt, so it was game over for the first lap."
Despite the setback, Norris said he remained confident in the pace of his McLaren.
"Then I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake. My pace was probably one of the best paces I have ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I had confidence."
He credited the team's strategy and tyre management for helping him regain the lead.
"It was a great race and to get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting. The pace was so good. I could always extend the stint and then my fresh tyres won me the race. So, I'm just happy to be back and be number one again."
Piastri said he was unsure what caused the gearbox failure, adding that his race had unravelled after the clash with Sainz.
"When it broke, I was just taking my normal line, so I'm not sure what it was. It was the highlight of my race when I was leading, and it went downhill from there," he said.
"There's a lot to unpack: firstly, the pace on hard tyres was just nowhere, and then obviously getting taken out by a backmarker is never really one of the things you think can go wrong, but I was proved wrong. And then, the gearbox..."
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli finished third to strengthen his lead in the Formula One drivers' championship, extending his advantage to 50 points over Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton crossed the line in fifth after serving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella welcomed the victory and said the team's updated car package had exceeded expectations.
He also suggested Piastri's collision with Sainz had cost the Australian valuable time, describing Sainz as a fair and respectful competitor.
"We know Carlos is such a fair, correct driver, so if this is happening, then that means something was not working correctly," Stella said.