21 July 2026 17:30 (UTC)
"We're looking forward to a very different challenge at the Hungaroring"
The Hungaroring has a rich history and tests drivers as much as any circuit on the calendar.
That storied past has featured some magical McLaren moments down the years, including successive 1-2 finishes in 2024 and 2025. When Oscar crossed the line first in 2024 for his maiden Formula 1 triumph, it marked our first 1-2 in three years. To prove it was no fluke, they did it again in 2025, bringing home our 200th F1 victory in the process.
With that sparkling recent form at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and some small signs of positivity in Belgium, even on a weekend where Andrea Stella acknowledged that we left ‘Spa-Francorchamps with a smaller points haul than our potential’, this looks set to be an exciting weekend for the Papaya Family.
To get you in the mood, we have run through the season so far, looked at where the race will be won, and reflected on the Hungaroring’s 40-year history in F1.
“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.”
“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.”
As the nickname ‘Monaco without walls’ suggests, the Hungaroring is quite different to some of the recent circuits that we’ve visited.
Overtaking is notoriously difficult with short straights and slow corners like the streets of Monte Carlo, meaning that the race for the Chequered Flag may well come down to who performs on Saturday even more than usual.
Qualifying will be vital, and with power and straight-line speed less of a factor, the final shake-up often comes down to driving ability through the many corners.
While Turns 10 through to 12 are particularly thrilling, it is Turn 14 that has the potential to ruin an afternoon. The tricky 180-degree right-hander is approached uphill with the grandstand coming into view ahead of the track’s longest straight.
Drivers need to find the perfect line to avoid the bump in the middle of the corner, before getting the ideal exit to pick up maximum straight-line speed down to Turn 1. Good front-end grip is key to holding it at the apex, but traction is just as vital for that speed coming out of the turn.
Get it right, and you should fly on that longest straight, but if you don’t, then you’ll be paying the price.
Although we didn’t depart Belgium with the results we’d have liked, there were some encouraging signs, as Lando and Oscar both left Spa saying that the car felt as quick as it had done all season.
Both drivers made up places in the race, with Oscar moving up from sixth to fifth, and Lando finishing in seventh, having started back in 13th
The points gained see us sitting third in the Constructors’ Championship, 90 points off third, while Lando and Oscar are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Drivers’ standings.
24 - 26 JUL
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. 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.
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 1,000 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.”
Each race week, we’ll be putting the same question to Lando and Oscar to find out just how similar (or different) they really are. The question could be anything: from their favourite corner on the F1 calendar, to their ultimate pre-race anthem, or even the one food they absolutely refuse to eat on race week.
This week, ahead of F1’s summer break, we asked them whether they prefer a relaxing holiday or an active one.
Oscar: No question, a relaxing holiday for sure.
Lando: Most of my holidays are probably a little bit of both. But it depends who you are with. I like relaxing and doing nothing, but at the same time, if I can go and play golf, then I will go and play golf. However, that’s probably the most active I will be on a holiday. I like to relax, not really go anywhere, and keep it simple.
Follow all of the action this weekend via the McLaren Racing App, available to download on Android and iOS.
