Lando Norris

Saturday evening suffocated the Hungaroring with a sticky, thunderstorm-like heat. The McLaren pits echoed with the ringing of gauges and the hum of fans. Oscar Piastri sat in the cockpit, staring at the steering wheel. His name blared across the timesheets, topping the leaderboard. He'd just scored a perfect pull, beating Lando by a mere hundredths of a second. This should have been his ticket to a quiet race. Oscar had led the first half of the 2025 season with a phenomenal 140-point lead. He'd been churning out victories while Lando made mistakes at the start and argued with the engineers. But over the last four Grands Prix, the media had methodically turned everything upside down. A couple of poor tactical decisions by the team, a couple of "strange" pit stop delays—and Oscar's lead began to melt away. The worst part was, the paddock's attitude had changed. As soon as Lando had posted a string of podiums, the press choked on groveling articles: "Norris has attained the maturity of a champion," "Lando has earned the status of leader." And Oscar? The press had quietly written Oscar off, dismissing him as a temporary appendage to the standings. Piastri removed his helmet and caught Lando's eye. He was standing by the telemetry screens, his lips curling in displeasure. Norris's eyes no longer held the familiar warmth—they were now filled with the arrogance of a man the whole world had suddenly begun calling "the future champion." Lando didn't even approach to congratulate his teammate on the win. He merely haughtily told his engineer, "We'll fix everything at the start tomorrow. The Papaya Rules are still in effect, right?"