At the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP, McLaren walked away from a tricky Friday satisfied with the performance of its aerodynamic upgrade package, despite the challenging wind conditions and uneven track surface.
Regardless, there were mixed feelings in the garage. Lando Norris finished FP2 strong in P3 while Oscar Piastri ended the session in P8, close to 0.9s slower. However, it is worth noting that Piastri was running the older package to facilitate comparative tests.
The Australian driver also only participated in FP2, with Leonardo Fornaroli using his car for his second FP1 rookie session. The Italian driver also drove the MCL40 with an older iteration floor and finished the session in P16.
Norris motivated by McLaren’s development plan at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
Lando Norris reflected on his performance in both FP1 and FP2, sharing that he was motivated by the performance improvement of his MCL40.
However, the Briton did note that there was still room for improvement. He is looking forward to studying the data collected over both sessions with the team.
He added that while he is aware McLaren would not be able to immediately match the pace of the top teams, he is optimistic about the team’s progress.
“A tricky day, not the easiest two sessions for us. While we took a step forward this afternoon, we’ve still got some work to do. We’ve introduced some new bits on the car today, and we need to understand those a bit better and how we can get them dialled in. We know we’re not going to catch the guys ahead immediately, so we need to keep working hard, but we’re making steps in the right direction in a few areas. We’ll work hard overnight to get more out of this package and see what we can do tomorrow.”
Piastri on tough FP2 session at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
The Australian driver was one of the many who struggled with a lack of grip on the resurfaced Hungaroring circuit. Oscar Piastri shared his own perspective on the track conditions and gave insights into how the intense wind speed affected the balance of his McLaren.
“Very tough. I mean, I obviously heard all the comments from FP1, but yeah, living them myself was quite a different experience. So, yeah, just very, very challenging out there for everybody, I think. But, yeah, just a lot of variables, very windy. I think the car is naturally quite on edge anyway, and you throw in some wind and it’s very tough.”
The 25-year-old also spoke about the resurfaced Hungaroring circuit. According to the Australian, there were patches of asphalt peeling away from the surface, resulting in an unusually bumpy track.
“And then the track surface as well, quite bizarre in a couple of places where it’s been…Well, the new bits actually, where it’s worn away, and they’ve added in some strips of tarmac, it’s quite inconsistent. So yeah, all of those things are making it pretty tough.”
Why McLaren chose to do the rookie FP1 session in Hungary
When asked if he was worried about missing FP1, Piastri shared that the layout of the Hungaroring meant that McLaren was not overly concerned about energy deployment, unlike at tracks such as the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
This made the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP one of the ideal weekends on the calendar for McLaren to schedule the mandatory rookie FP1 session.
However, with the tricky weather and track conditions, Piastri would have preferred to have both FP1 and FP2 to familiarise himself with the handling of his MCL40. Though the Australian did note that the wind speed and directions are forecast to shift entirely on Saturday, which meant the track conditions would differ too.
“I mean, I think it depends where you do it. I think you’ve probably seen a lot of us do it here because the deployment is not a massive factor. There’s a few options, but it’s nothing like Spa. So, that side of things I don’t think has changed much. But yeah, when you’ve got a track and conditions that are as tough as that, you almost need the extra session more. But I think the wind is supposed to completely change tomorrow and the conditions probably will as well. So, let’s wait and see.”
Expectations for the new upgrade package
Piastri then shared his expectations for the upgrades McLaren brought into the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP weekend. The nine-time Grand Prix winner noted his teammate’s promising performance in FP2 and is optimistic about the performance improvements these upgrades will bring to his McLaren.
He is also confident that the Woking outfit could challenge Ferrari with the new upgrades and a decent lap.
“I mean, it feels like there’s about three seconds if I can get it nailed, but obviously there’s not. I’ll have the new bits tomorrow, so hopefully that improves things a little bit. I don’t think it’s going to change the world.
“But, yeah, I think the Ferraris looked very quick. I think Lando obviously looked pretty good then. So yeah, it’s hard to read. But if you can do a good, relatively clean lap at the moment, you’ll be somewhere at the top. So, that’s the plan for tomorrow.”
Singh on McLaren’s “tricky” outing at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
McLaren’s senior Director of Racing, Randy Singh, reflected on the tough FP1 session at the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP and shared his insights.
Singh was happy to share that the upgrades worked as expected despite the challenging track conditions.
He also praised the drivers, including Fornaroli, for their performance in both FP1 and FP2. He added that it was impossible to predict where the team stood on the grid due to the tough weather conditions at the Hungaroring.
“Yeah, very tricky day. The conditions, the tarmac, the wind, it’s very hard for everyone to deliver laps. So yeah, that was tricky. Drivers all did a good job today, including Leo, who played a big part in testing our upgrades in FP1. All the upgrades really have delivered as we expected, which is the most positive thing that we can say. Hard to assess where we stand with how difficult the conditions were today.”
Facilitating comparative tests
Singh then explained why both Piastri and Fornaroli did the sessions with an older iteration of the floor. According to the Briton, it was to compare the performance of the upgraded floor.
“So today, Oscar ran the old floor in P2. Just so we could compare across cars. So tomorrow, Oscar will have the new floor as well. So be an exciting day, hopefully.”
Singh then took the time to praise Fornaroli’s contribution from FP1, stating that the Italian driver was able to collect significant data for McLaren to look through.
He even highlighted the testing of the “Macarena rear wing”.
“Yeah, definitely. Leo’s been really helpful. He’s done a lot of prep in the simulator for here as well. He had a difficult test programme to do today, and he worked through that really diligently. So no, that was really useful. And as you saw, we continued to test the flip flap or Macarena rear wing, and he helped with that as well.”
Looking ahead to Qualifying
Despite the challenging start to the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP, McLaren is optimistic heading into Saturday.
Singh echoed Norris, reflecting that while McLaren may not be able to immediately catch up, the Woking outfit is working in the right direction.
“Yeah, I mean, generally positive, like looking forward to see where we end up tomorrow. The gap to whoever’s been quickest in qualifying or in the races has been a bit bigger in recent races. So we always knew that we weren’t going to close that gap in one go, but hopefully we made a good step to doing so.”
