Formula 1: Lando Norris 'coming of age' didn't need what many expected

McLaren's Lando Norris was in position to take his second career Formula 1 Grand Prix victory on Sunday at the Hungaroring. But after a number of demands from the team over the radio, he let teammate Oscar Piastri pass him for the lead with just a few laps to go.

Norris started the 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix around the 14-turn, 2.722-mile (4.381-kilometer) road course from the pole position, but Piastri took the lead at the start and pulled away.

Norris was able to cut into his teammate's lead before making his final pit stop of the race, and he was told to pit first to cover off the threat of an undercut from Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in third place. That, in turn, allowed Norris to undercut Piastri and inherit the lead.

As Norris continued to ignore the team orders on the radio to let Piastri retake the lead, it looked as though he was going to go on to win the race that had been in Piastri's hands before McLaren put Norris on what appeared to be the far more favorable pit strategy.

There was debate about whether or not Norris should do it, specifically because he, not Piastri, is the driver in second place in the world championship standings behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Piastri is in fifth.

It's not often that a number one driver is told to move over for a number two, especially when it comes to a race victory, and especially when that number one driver is in title contention beyond the halfway point of the season.

One of the arguments made supporting the idea of Norris ignoring the instruction was what other top drivers would do in that scenario.

Would Michael Schumacher move over? Would Ayrton Senna move over? Would Sebastian Vettel move over? Would Lewis Hamilton move over? Would Max Verstappen move over?

After Norris's run-in with Verstappen in Austria a few weeks ago, some went as far as making comparisons to the legendary rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

Let's hit the brakes for a second.

Norris is a one-time Grand Prix winner.

He's not Schumacher. He's not Senna. He's not Vettel. He's not Hamilton. He's not Verstappen. He's not Hunt. He's not Lauda.

Everyone wants him to be that, as evidenced by his stockpile of Driver of the Day awards and the media's refusal to criticize him for certain performances other drivers would be ridiculed for, but he simply isn't.

Norris is a talented young driver who still has something to prove. And on Sunday, believe it or not, his actions went a long way toward proving that.

Though the seven points he lost to Piastri could hurt over the long run in a potential battle with Verstappen for the world championship, he has solidified that he is indeed McLaren's top driver.

His willingness to allow his teammate to achieve the maiden win that he was on course to achieve from the start has put him in a position where there should be no issue if Piastri needs to take on a wingman-type role down the road.

Even as McLaren's top driver, him moving over for his teammate could be worth a lot more than seven points in the long run. He did his good deed on a day when his teammate should have been out front at the end anyway.

Sure, he could have made a big statement by not doing so. But after the team reportedly had some kind of agreement that they reached the morning of the race, before both drivers shared the front row, that statement would have been the wrong one to send to the team members who were desperate to make good on what they told Piastri was "nothing to worry about" when the call to pit Norris was made.

It almost certainly would have come back to bite him down the road, one way or another.

Let's not forget that Piastri was on course to win the British Grand Prix before McLaren inexplicably left him out a lap longer on slick tires. Norris was then in position to win before a botched pit stop and the wrong call on tire strategy. Only one driver made a mistake, and it wasn't Piastri there.

One of the issues with Norris, and the primary reason why he is on a seven-race losing streak, despite McLaren having had the quickest car in as many as six of those races, is his inability to stay grounded in the most crucial moments.

He has shown the world (more than once) that he can let things get in his head, at least a lot more so than we see from other regular frontrunners.

With the lead and a seemingly easy win in front of him in Hungary, one would think taking his second victory – seeing the ball go through the hoop, if you will, after several races of disappointment – would have gone a long way toward alleviating that struggle.

Instead, he made the mature decision to give up a sure victory to help the team. Though he didn't win, he reestablished his ability to run up front, and he did so knowing that the team have a quick car that should continue to be strong.

And he knows that, if it comes down to it, the team will make those decisions in his favor down the road, since he obliged when he certainly didn't have to.

He wasn't happy about it; look at how he snapped at Hamilton (for literally no reason) in the post-race cooldown room. But he did what he needed to do, when he needed to do it, to set himself and the team up for additional success down the road.

He certainly still needs to work on his race starts; those alone have cost him arguably three wins up to this point, given how the last several races have played out. But beyond that, he appears to be right on the verge of a breakthrough. The Hungarian Grand Prix proved it.

Will Norris get his second career Formula 1 victory in this coming weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps? The race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 8:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, July 28. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!