'Dangerous': Max Verstappen investigated for towel toss as Norris outguns Piastri in practice
Lando Norris was fastest in both practice sessions ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix as McLaren led the way once again. Oscar Piastri was next by just .019 of a second in the first practice session and .291 in the second. Charles Leclerc was third fastest for Ferrari in both sessions.
However, it was a tough day for Max Verstappen, who this week committed to stay with Red Bull for 2026. He was ninth in the first session and 14th in the second, and said that piloting his unbalanced car felt like “driving on ice.”
Worse, Verstappen found himself facing an investigation from the stewards after he found a towel inside his cockpit and threw it out of the car while going at speed. The defending champion and Red Bull were asked to report to the stewards over the incident, but the team was let off with a warning.
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Max Verstappen finds the towel before tossing it from his car. FOX Sports
Verstappen told stewards the face towel had slipped from his lap and that team officials were unaware it was still in his car when he was sent out on the track.
"It's just a towel that you normally wipe your face with when you come back in," Verstappen later explained.
"It was still in the car when I went out.
"Instead of it maybe potentially flying in between my feet, which is the dangerous part, I drove off line, and I got rid of it in the safest way possible.
"I think the stewards understand that."
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso missed the first practice session for treatment on a back injury, before being medically cleared to carry on. Alonso was fifth in the second session, one place behind his teammate Lance Stroll.
Some Formula 1 races live in the memory because of thrilling action, some for controversy, some even for being so dull they forced a rule change.
And then there's Oscar Piastri's first F1 win, the benchmark for sheer awkwardness.
Piastri is happy to be back in Hungary this week, but his breakthrough victory there last year remains a lesson for McLaren as it tries to manage his title fight with teammate Lando Norris.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren F1 Team. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
It's all the more important now. Piastri has developed into a genuine title contender over the last year and leads Norris by 16 points following his victory in Belgium last week.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself that I can do it,” the Australian said of his title chances in Hungary.
“The pace in the last few weekends, especially (Belgium), I’ve been very confident in and very proud of. I’m more than capable of continuing that for the rest of the year.”
McLaren can reach some milestones this weekend, with a potential 200th win in F1 for the team. It could also be Piastri and Norris' fourth one-two finish in a row, a feat McLaren last managed in 1988.
Piastri took the win last year in Hungary, but only after McLaren had to plead over the radio with Norris to “do the right thing” and let Piastri past, something the British driver was reluctant to do.
Piastri had been leading, but McLaren's pit strategy — which would normally favour the leader — had put Norris ahead. Piastri thinks the team can still take positives from that situation.
Oscar Piastri leading Lando Norris. Getty
“I think it underlined the good nature in the team. It was obviously a slightly awkward situation, but it highlighted that we will do the right thing in all circumstances - well, ideally all circumstances - when we’re on track,” Piastri said.
“It showed the trust that we have with the team and with each other as well, that things will be put the right way.”
F1 has a history of title fights turning team relationships sour — not least at McLaren with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost over 30 years ago — but Piastri and Norris have kept their rivalry friendly. Even so, there’s been a collision in Canada, a near-miss in Austria and Piastri's rejected request for Norris to give up the lead in Britain.
Piastri said one factor preventing his relationship with Norris from deteriorating is that both are committed to keeping McLaren on top in F1 for “many years to come”.
“We’ve all seen how it can go wrong, but we have a lot of reasons to push for it to not go wrong,” he added.
