Oscar is preparing to return to Europe this week after a very busy, very British few weeks, having visited Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Wimbledon, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the British Grand Prix, where he finished a career-best fourth.

He’ll head to Hungary with a smile on his face – and not only due to Australia’s current advantage in the Ashes but because he’ll have a competitive car beneath him at the Hungaroring.

Oscar’s fourth-place finish in Silverstone marked his first experience of the upgraded MCL60, which had been initially deployed a week ahead of schedule on Lando’s car for the Austrian Grand Prix. In the old-spec McLaren, Oscar suffered damage in Spielberg that left him fighting at the back of the grid, a tough result that made his switch to frontrunner at Silverstone all the sweeter.

Oscar came away from the race in Silverstone saying it was nice to feel frustrated with fourth, as he only missed out on the podium due to an unfortunately timed Safety Car, whilst CEO Zak Brown insisted we were “back in the game,” before calling for cautious optimism, with Silverstone amongst the tracks most likely to suit the MCL60’s strengths.

Explaining why, Oscar said: “It was a very decent step forward, which was nice. I think we're still slightly cautious that maybe Silverstone suited us quite well as a track because we're generally very quick in the high-speed corners, and there is a lot of those at Silverstone.

“Budapest will be a big test of whether we are quick everywhere, but regardless, this is certainly a step in the right direction. Without the upgrades, we wouldn’t have been able to challenge [at Silverstone], to tag onto the back of the Red Bulls, to beat Ferrari and Mercedes. They worked wonders.

“To be in that position so early on in my F1 career was pretty exciting, to say the least. In some ways, it was almost back to familiar territory from my junior days. In the reverse grid races, I would be fighting more towards the back, but even in those, you’re generally in a quicker car than the drivers around you, so you don’t have that fear of going backwards, which, unfortunately, is what we had earlier this year.

“It was nice to be back at the front, which makes things a bit easier as you've got fewer people to worry about. Once you get out of the first lap, mid-pack carnage, it's a much nicer place to be, fighting for trophies.”

Qualifying third and finishing fourth in the race was Oscar’s best result since stepping up to F1 and promoted him to 11th in the Drivers’ Championship. It also has the Australian sitting fourth in the list of 2023 F1 drivers’ best rookie season results, tied with Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.

Despite a clear difference in lap time and many visible changes between the old-spec MCL60 and the upgraded car, Oscar said they didn’t actually feel like fundamentally different cars.

“No, it didn't feel massively different – the main thing was more grip,” he explained. “In terms of car balance, there have been a few improvements, but there are still a few things we want to work on with that. The biggest difference was the lap time. It was nice to jump into the car and not have to adapt to it very much and go quicker.

“Our one-lap pace took a good step forward, but our race pace was also clearly a lot better than what I had in Austria, which was very nice to see. But in terms of the feeling, it's not entirely different, even if a lot of it is a new car.”

The Hungaroring has been a permanent feature on the Formula 1 calendar since 1986. It’s tight, twisting and very technical. Straight-line speed matters less, whilst downforce and grip are more crucial. This is in contrast to Silverstone, a fast, free-flowing circuit with high-speed corners that rewards pace on the straights.

Having spent time practising the Hungaroring on the simulator in the updated MCL60, Oscar’s got a good idea of what to expect, although, as always, it remains to be seen how this translates into real-life performance.

“We can’t be sure what to expect, but we feel like we should be in the fight with Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin now,” Oscar continued. “I feel like we've jumped out of that pack from the midfield to the back, but at the same time, we saw in Silverstone that there are still some teams from that pack of cars that are quick. Williams, for example, have looked very strong in the last couple of rounds, so we will have to see.

“I would say we are maybe expecting Hungary to be a little bit more difficult than Silverstone as there are a lot more slow-speed corners, which are generally a bit weaker for us. We’ll see how we go, but if we can have a good weekend in Budapest, and the car performs well, then I think we can be confident of turning up to most places and being pretty strong.”

Why are cars strong at some circuits and weaker at others?

Whether it be engineers, drivers or the media, much has been made this season of which circuits suit which cars. Formula 1 tracks have never been “one size fits all,” but in some eras of F1, this has more evident than in others. This is one of those seasons, with teams appearing to take a big step forward in one race, before taking a step back in another.

This may feel confusing for many fans, so we asked Oscar to explain why cars are more suited to some tracks than others.

“It is to do with how the cars are designed and how they're tested in the wind tunnel,” he explained. “Different teams focus on different areas: some are very good in high-speed corners and braking, which is where we are strong. Others are better in low-speed corners.

“When working on the car in the wind tunnel, you can focus more on either of these two areas. It is about how to best portion your time on these different areas. Having better technology available and listening to what your drivers want to focus on can also affect this.

"Each team will have their own philosophies and ideas of where they believe a car should be strong. Every team wants their car to be strong everywhere, but ultimately, the work you do in the wind tunnel, and the way that you work as a team and with your drivers will affect the characteristics of the car."