F1. Hungary 2026 Review

Gavin: The current World Champion finally had a car that gave him a chance and by heck he took it. Not even a bad start could stop the pace that the McLaren was exhibiting and so Lando Norris goes into the summer break with a spring in his step and maybe an eye on a challenge..? If McLaren keep this up then all bets are off. Special mention to Papaya Rules for making a bit of a comeback – we missed you.

Aiden: Despite the McLaren being off the pace for most of the season, Lando Norris has appeared more confident in his own abilities than ever, following his world title success in 2025. In Hungary we were reminded of what he can do when he has the car, in what Norris himself described as ‘one of my best performances.’ After securing pole position, he did lose the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri on lap one, but once he got that hiccup out of the way, and re-took the lead after his second pit stop, there was no stopping him.

Graeme: Finally, the defending champion has reached the top step of the podium this season.  I was beginning to think Lando Norris and McLaren had nothing in them this year, but he had a standout weekend at the Hungaroring and heads into the summer break on a high.  After being overtaken by his teammate in the early corners, he got the advantage back later and extended his lead late.  A jolly spiffing drive from the young Brit.

Chelsea: Lando Norris’s first win of the season takes the crown this week. His upgrade paid off, he qualified well, and despite a snafu at turn two, tactical pitting through the race gave him plenty of clean air to take a dominant victory. Solid.

Talking Point

Gavin: What happened to Ferrari? At a track where they were expected to dominate they ended up being nowhere. There was no bad strategy that would be easy to point at, there were no word “inchidents” out there, but they just did not deliver. Yes, Lewis Hamilton got penalised again but still, it did not explain their lack of competitiveness. Hopefully the team resets and come back stronger in the second half of the season.

Aiden: It’s fair to say Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz probably didn’t catch up for a post-race beer in Budapest after the Australian was held up by the Spaniard, whilst trying to lap him – they also collided, prompting some strong words from Piastri on the team radio. On-board footage has now confirmed that Sainz passed seven trackside panels flashing blue – used to signify that a faster car is approaching – in the moments before the incident. Time to go to Specsavers Carlos?

Graeme: George Russell again created a talking point straight away on Sunday, by all but stalling it on the start line and dropping down to 21st place at the 1st corner.  He can’t catch a break lately and is one driver who will take the upcoming break to reset and look to come back strong I the back half of the season.  I’ve said it before, but with his bad luck this season (and his teammate taking all the limelight), he must have some good people behind him.  So, it’s a credit to him and his team that he keeps pushing the way he does.  George’s luck will turn in the second half, I think.

Chelsea: Carlos Sainz caused a collison with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri when he failed to see Piastri attempt to overtake. Part of the issue was the failure of the electronic blue flag system, which alerts drivers that they should make way for overtaking drivers who are lapping them. Manual flags were in place, but drivers also relied on radio messages to alert them, and… my notes say “Sainz bonks into Piastri” so I was obviously a bit tired at this point. Piastri had a particularly tasty rant over the radio, and his race ended soon after with a (presumably unrelated) gearbox failure. Given Piastri was coming into Hungary with upgrades, and made a terrific start off the line to lead the race, this end to his day – on top of his teammate taking the flag – would have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Australian.

Gossip Time

Gavin: Aston Martin finishing 13th and 14th was a bit unexpected, and it is probably very timely for Fernando Alonso as he will have to make a decision regarding his future soon. In the right car he can still be competitive but unfortunately he hasn’t been in the right car recently. If the Adrian Newey magic is starting to work Fernando will want to hang around and race, but if this was a flash in the pan then I suspect that he will be leaving F1 for good.

Aiden: With Malaysia now scheduled to hold a Grand Prix in October on behalf of Bahrain, we are back up to 23 race weekends for 2026. But with the final two races of the year still far from certain to take place (in Qatar and Abu Dhabi) due to the ongoing war, Imola in Italy is looking likely to hold a race in their place, should the need arise.

Graeme: It’s officially silly season in Formula 1.  With a number of spots still available on the grid for next year, where will some of these driver’s land?  Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman.  Not all will necessarily move, but there are some strong drivers here who will be sought-after surely.  Williams are a team who have struggled mightily this year, so don’t discount change there.  Verstappen holds the key to a lot of this though so whenever he decides his future, the dominos will fall into place.

Chelsea: The battle between the two RB drivers, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, has been one of the big hooks of this season for me. With silly season about to start, it’s hard to split the two in terms of results – but potential-wise, Lindblad has the edge, partly because he’s never had the opportunity to fail in the senior team. Nikola Tsolov, the Bulgarian currently leading F2, is apparently being toyed with as a replacement should there be any silly season antics, but I would like to see the current lineup continue. As an aside, in an interview this week, RB Principal Alan Permane batted away a suggestion that Max Verstappen could have a spin in one of the RBs himself – despite the RBs chalking up only one DNF so far this season, compared with Red Bulls’ five. Surely it’s worth a try?

Looking Ahead

Gavin: When the season restarts after the summer break the EPL football season will be starting up and the All Blacks will be touring South Africa so we will be back to full time sports again. Now is the time to recharge the batteries and enjoy the silly season with Instagram Reels of F1 people on yachts. It is just a pity it is freezing cold here in Aotearoa right now.

Aiden: The summer break! Expect to see lots of Instagram posts of drivers (and some team principals) drinking champagne whilst lounging on  yachts on the Riviera. Catch you all after the Dutch Grand Prix in four weeks time…

Graeme: It’s summer break season now where it’s time for the drivers and team to unwind and post photos from locations that are beyond the wildest dreams of us mere mortals.  Although no doubt, we’ll see Max Verstappen unwinding by finding something with wheels and trying to set a lap record. Lewis & Kim will holiday at somewhere out of a travel magazine while their holiday wardrobe will make the rest of us question whether we even own clothes.  Charles & Alexandra will accidentally end up in some beautiful location, looking like they’re starring in a luxury watch ad while insisting their photos are just their normal life.  And Lance Stroll, does he even need a break?  He’s done nothing all year, so he’ll carry on being anonymous as usual.  Till late August…

Chelsea: Some drivers will be embracing the summer break more heartily than others. Obviously George Russell will be looking to forget the first half of a season where many had picked him to take the title. Instead, he’s sitting in third, 59 points behind his upstart teammate Kimi Antonelli, but also behind former teammate Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton himself will be reflecting on a number of races blighted by avoidable penalties, and a singular victory that almost makes the “might-have-beens” worse. Carlos Sainz will be wondering what happened to all that sweet sweet Williams potential, and Valtteri Bottas will simply be drinking a lot of gin. He would have been doing that either way though. See you in August!

Bonus Picture(s)

Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz getting to know each other and ruining Oscar’s race