Following a weekend at Spa-Francorchamps that saw a points haul lower than the potential shown on track, the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team heads straight to the Hungaroring in Budapest determined to build momentum as the 2026 Formula 1 season enters its final race weekend before the summer break.
Despite showing encouraging pace throughout the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished fifth and seventh respectively after a race that didn't fully reward the performance of the MCL40.
With development proving decisive in one of the closest competitive battles in recent Formula 1 history, the team arrives in Budapest ready to take another important step forward.
McLaren will therefore introduce a valuable package of upgrades for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, marking another milestone in the car's development pathway under the new era and regulations of Formula 1. The package includes primarily a new floor and further other aerodynamic parts, which will be tested throughout the Free Practice sessions available in Hungary. On top of that, during FP1 only the team will test a developed version of the experimental rear wing that was due to be tested on Friday of the Austrian Grand Prix. This item is not scheduled to be introduced fully at this or the following race in the Netherlands.
With braking and cornering an area of focus at high-downforce circuits like Hungaroring and Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, the package of upgrades that will be introduced between this race and the first after the summer shutdown should improve the level of performance in similar circuits with these characteristics. The team therefore acknowledges that the upcoming races are not the optimum conditions for the MCL40. However, while not everything will be solved at once, McLaren remains optimistic in the further upgrades coming for the second part of the season.
The weekend in Hungary will also see Leonardo Fornaroli return to the cockpit for his second Formula 1 Free Practice 1 appearance with the team, this time taking the place of Oscar Piastri. After making his official Grand Prix weekend debut earlier this season in FP1 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the McLaren Development Driver will once again get behind the wheel of the MCL40. This will provide valuable mileage for the Italian driver as he will further develop his experience of supporting the team over a race weekend, providing feedback to help optimise setup for Lando and Oscar.
Randy Singh - Senior Director, Racing: "Heading to Hungary, we're looking forward to a very different challenge at the Hungaroring and the final race before the summer shutdown. It's a circuit that demands a high-downforce package and rewards confidence under braking, strong corner entry and good traction, while the combination of hot temperatures, relentless corners and limited straights makes tyre management a key factor.
"As always this season, we'll also be focused on getting the most from our power unit deployment across the lap and understanding how the revised overtaking characteristics influence strategy. We have an upgrade package arriving this weekend too, and in such a competitive season every development is important so it will be great to gather further understanding on how those parts perform throughout Free Practice.
"Our aim is to maximise everything we have available, carry positive momentum into the shutdown and put ourselves in the strongest possible position for the second half of the championship."
Leonardo Fornaroli: "I'm looking forward to driving the MCL40 in this weekend's Free Practice 1 at the Hungaroring. It's going to be another fantastic opportunity to continue my development with the car and build on the valuable work we completed together with the team in Barcelona.
"Every session is a chance to learn more, gain confidence and contribute to the team's programme for the weekend. I've been very busy in Woking over the past few weeks preparing this session in both the simulator and at the Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub, to make sure I'll be ready as I can.
"I'm really grateful to everybody at the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team for all the support they've given to me so far. I can't wait to get out on track on Friday, have fun and make the most of every lap to help the team."
McLaren Racing Heritage - Hungarian Grand Prix
13 wins, 9 Poles, 9 podiums & 9 Fastest Laps
• Most recent win: 2025, Lando Norris in the MCL39
• Special race: 2009, Lewis Hamilton's win in the MP4/24
• Standout race: 2024, Oscar's first win in the MCL38
The MCL38 started 2024 as a good car with potential and ended it as a great car with a World Championship, our first since 1998. In between, there were several crucial upgrades, a lot of graft trackside and back in Woking, and a car that needed to maximise results on tracks that suited its characteristics. The predominantly medium-speed Hungaroring suited it perfectly, and we took a 1-2 finish, with Oscar taking his first victory, ahead of Lando. They were joined on the podium by Randy Singh, reflecting the highly strategic nature of the race.
"It was a moment of great pride for me personally," says Oscar's Race Engineer, Tom Stallard, who started working with Oscar when he joined the driver line-up in 2023. "The previous season, Budapest had been a tough race for Oscar, where he struggled with tyre degradation, but in 2024, we had worked to address this, and he was able to demonstrate this with some style."
Oscar and Lando locked out the front row of the grid, with Lando starting on Pole. Oscar started well and got up the inside and into the lead. The race was expected to be a two-stop with a powerful undercut. Lewis Hamilton pitted first, on Lap 16, from P4, Lando covered the following lap, and Oscar the lap after that. When the order shook out, they were back in P1 and P2.
So far, so regulation. The second round of stops, however, elicited more excitement in the media - though it didn't seem like such a big deal in the garage.
In the normal course of events, Oscar would have pitted before Lando and secured his position against an undercut. The team, however, were worried about Lando losing P2 to a charging Hamilton. He'd successfully undercut Verstappen at the first stop, and was first of the leading pack to make a second stop, on Lap 40. The team therefore took the decision to bring Lando in before Oscar to secure Lando's track position ahead of Hamilton, planning to swap positions back after Lando inevitably undercut Oscar. Lando pitted on Lap 45, Oscar went to 47, and once the order shook out again, Lando was P1, Oscar P2.
Lando, now leading required Oscar to catch-up as the British driver couldn't realistically drop his own pace without losing tyre temperature. This resulted in the pair staying in fixed positions until Lap 68 of the 70, when Lando moved aside to restore the original running order that had been in place prior to the second set of pit-stops.
Oscar joined the elite circle of grand prix winners at his 35th race and, as is often the case, that opened the floodgates, with another victory following a few weeks later in Azerbaijan, and seven more the following season. "There are so many great drivers in Formula 1 who never win a race, so I am sure there is a sense of pride and even relief at being one of a very small group," says Tom. "But for Oscar, every time he has achieved something in Formula 1, within his excitement he has shown he is still working towards bigger successes in the future."
But what does it take to get that all-important first win? "Just to get to F1 is already a massive commitment," says Tom. "Once you get to a high level, everyone is committed, and there are now only 22 seats in Formula 1, 20 when Oscar joined. Then you need a strong team around you capable of building a race-winning car. A young driver has to quickly become a leader in a team of 1000 people, guiding and motivating them. Then you need excellent execution in the moment, despite the pressure that all those years of commitment lay on your shoulders. So getting that first win is a massive deal."
Hungaroring
Race laps: 70
Circuit length: 4.381 km/2.722 miles
Total race distance: 306.630 km/190.531 miles
Number of corners: 14 (8 right, 6 left)
Pitloss: +22s
Safety Car L1 pitloss: +11s
Energy management required: Low
Allocated tyre compounds: Hard: C3, Medium: C4 & Soft: C5
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