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McLaren is bringing a significant upgrade package and an experimental rear wing to the Hungarian Grand Prix, as it looks to close a development gap and rebuild momentum in its title defense before Formula 1’s summer break. The package for the MCL40 centers on a new or revised floor, along with other aerodynamic parts, and the team said Budapest offered an important chance to add performance after seeing itself as two to three months behind rivals in aerodynamic development.

The team will run the updates in practice sessions at the Hungaroring, including Friday testing of its upside-down, Macarena-style rear wing. McLaren said the wing, which was developed after a previous version failed to debut in Austria, is part of its effort to improve competitiveness. It does not expect the experimental wing to become a full-time race component in Hungary or at the following Dutch Grand Prix.

Racing director Randy Singh said Budapest’s high-downforce, tire-sensitive layout should help McLaren gather meaningful data and head into the shutdown with positive momentum. Team principal Andrea Stella said Hungary should provide the first results of the team’s development direction and said more upgrades are expected after the break. McLaren is third in the constructors’ standings, 163 points behind Mercedes after 10 races, and has said the updated parts will be evaluated across all three practice sessions. Leonardo Fornaroli will replace Oscar Piastri in Friday’s FP1 session for his second rookie outing of the season.

Leonardo Fornaroli will make his second Formula 1 practice appearance when McLaren runs him in Friday’s FP1 session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the 21-year-old Italian set to drive Oscar Piastri’s car at the Hungaroring. The outing gives McLaren another chance to evaluate its junior driver as the team works through the rookie running required in four mandatory FP1 sessions this season.

Fornaroli made his F1 weekend debut in Barcelona earlier this year, when he drove Lando Norris’ car and finished fifth in FP1. He joined McLaren in December after winning back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, and had not previously been affiliated with an F1 team. He has also completed a two-day TPC test for Haas at Jerez in the VF-25, with rumors linking him to a possible future seat there, and said he has spent recent weeks preparing in McLaren’s simulator and performance hub.

McLaren is using the Budapest weekend to gather data on a revised car as it brings an important upgrade package that includes a new floor and other aerodynamic parts. The team is trying to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, and it will test a developed version of its experimental rear wing only in FP1, not as a full introduction in Hungary or at the next race in the Netherlands. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team is also exploring ways to place Fornaroli on the grid.

F1’s Hungarian Grand Prix runs July 24-26 at the Hungaroring in Budapest as the 11th round of the 2026 season and the final race before the summer break. In the UK, Sky Sports F1 will show every session live, while non-Sky customers can stream through a NOW day pass or month pass, as well as NOW and Sky Go. Channel 4 will air free highlights of the weekend.

The F1 timetable opens with practice on Friday, followed by qualifying at 3 p.m. on Saturday UK time and the race at 2 p.m. on Sunday UK time. In the United States, viewers can watch sessions on Apple TV through a new F1 channel, and F1 TV Pro is available in regions without exclusive TV contracts. The Hungaroring is a tight circuit where overtaking is difficult, and dry conditions are expected throughout the weekend, with race-day temperatures forecast to reach 31C.

F3 also races in Budapest as round 7 of its 2026 season and its final round before the summer break. Free practice is set for Friday at 09:55 local time and lasts 45 minutes, qualifying follows on Friday at 15:00 for 30 minutes, and the sprint race is on Saturday before the feature race on Sunday. Every F3 session will be shown live on F1TV. Kimi Antonelli arrives in Hungary after winning the Belgian Grand Prix and leads the Drivers’ Championship by 45 points.

Red Bull is set to hire Mercedes junior driver programme chief Gwen Lagrue in a move aimed at strengthening its driver development operation, with the role described as similar to the one previously held by Helmut Marko. The move has not been finalized and no start date has been agreed, as Mercedes and Red Bull continue to negotiate Lagrue’s release from his contract.

Lagrue has led Mercedes’ junior programme since 2016 and played a central role in the development of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whom Mercedes signed at 11 and promoted to Formula 1 in 2025. Lagrue also helped support Esteban Ocon, Frederik Vesti and Alex Albon during their time in Mercedes’ driver programme. Before joining Mercedes, Lagrue ran Lotus’ junior program after being recruited in 2011 and helped bring through Ocon and Albon.

Neither Red Bull nor Mercedes has confirmed the move. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that discussions were ongoing and that nothing had been agreed or decided. If completed, the appointment would add a highly regarded talent spotter to Red Bull’s junior pathway, with Lagrue expected to work alongside team principal Laurent Mekies as the team reshapes its driver recruitment structure.

Martin Brundle said Formula 1 has lost part of its identity at high-speed circuits because the current regulations force drivers to manage energy instead of attacking iconic corners flat out. He said drivers were lifting through sections at Spa-Francorchamps during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend to harvest battery energy, a problem he said had already affected Silverstone. Brundle said corners including Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone, and Eau Rouge, Raidillon and the Kemmel Straight at Spa, were no longer being taken at full speed, which left him “with a tear in my eye.”

Brundle said the current rules have hurt the spectacle at high-speed tracks and should be scrapped “as soon as possible.” He said the cars still look impressive and the racing can still be entertaining, but added that the energy-management concept needs to go. He noted planned regulation changes for 2027 and 2028, and said he wants the current concept gone by 2030 or 2031. Brundle also backed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s push to return to V8 engines on sustainable fuels, a proposal aimed at 2030 or 2031.

Other drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris, have also complained about energy management. Brundle said recent races at Silverstone and Spa exposed the problem of yoyo-racing, with drivers forced to lift in places such as Eau Rouge and Maggotts and Becketts to recover battery energy. He said live telemetry was mostly hidden from viewers during the weekend, although the audio still revealed drivers backing off.