Piastri Reflects on ‘Getting Taken Out by a Backmarker’ in Unusual Hungarian GP Incident

Oscar Piastri had a rollercoaster of a Hungarian Grand Prix, leading the first half before a series of unfortunate events — including a run-in with Carlos Sainz's Williams — left him watching from the sidelines. The day started on a high note for Piastri, who launched from third on the grid, outmaneuvering Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the start and executing a clever cut-back to overtake McLaren teammate Lando Norris at Turn 2. He led the race comfortably until after his second pit stop, where things began to unravel.

Caught in traffic, Piastri found himself in a tangle with Sainz between Turns 2 and 3. This incident, coupled with Norris setting a blistering pace in clean air, saw Piastri slip down the order. Then, to add insult to injury, a gearbox failure forced him to retire just 15 laps from the finish line.

"Obviously pretty disappointed," Piastri said, reflecting on the race in the paddock. "I felt good after Lap 1, and the first stint was decent. But the pace on the hard tyres wasn’t there, even though I had track position. From there, everything that could have gone wrong, did."

When asked about Sainz's post-race comments, Piastri didn't hold back. "He was fighting Fernando Alonso for last place like it was the World Championship, and cost me the lead of the race," he remarked wryly. "He's often critical of others, but maybe he should take a look in the mirror."

Piastri was unsparing in his criticism of the incident, saying, "I don’t really care if he didn’t see me. Whether it was a lack of awareness or no one told him, it’s unacceptable."

Looking forward to the summer break, Piastri remains focused on resetting and regrouping. "We need to find some pace," he admitted. "You don’t plan for getting taken out by a backmarker, so I can’t blame the team. We’ll just try to improve over the break."

Meanwhile, Norris capitalized on the situation to secure McLaren's first win of the 2026 season, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli rounding out the podium. As for Piastri, it’s back to the drawing board, hoping for better fortunes when the season resumes.