McLaren has confirmed a significant upgrade package for the Hungarian Grand Prix, headlined by a revised floor and additional aerodynamic parts. After months of admitting the MCL40 struggles at the exact type of circuit the Hungaroring represents, the timing is either perfectly calculated or deliciously ironic. Probably both.
The Floor Is the Story
Team principal Andrea Stella has been refreshingly candid about the MCL40’s development struggles, particularly in slow-speed corners and under braking. These are not minor inconveniences. They are precisely the traits the Hungaroring punishes most. With 11 of its 14 corners slower than 150 km/h, Budapest has routinely exposed exactly those weaknesses this season.
“We now have a clear direction in terms of development, but in some areas of the car it took a couple of months to get it to be realised. We should see in Hungary the first results of this approach.” – Andrea Stella
The centrepiece of the package is a new floor, accompanied by further aerodynamic modifications to be evaluated throughout Friday practice. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will assess the full package across the weekend, though one of them will not even be in the car for FP1.
The Macarena Wing Gets a Second Chance
You may remember McLaren’s experimental rear wing from the Austrian Grand Prix, where it failed pre-session checks and never turned a wheel. It has since been sent back to Woking, reworked, and will now be trialled during Hungary FP1 only. The team is emphatic: it is a test item. Do not expect it on the grid in Budapest or at Zandvoort.
Still, the fact that McLaren is committing valuable FP1 time to it speaks to how important this development direction is. The entire 2026 field is grappling with energy deployment complexity, and every aerodynamic gain counts double when power unit management is this intricate.
Three Regulars Sit Out FP1
Piastri makes way for reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, the 21-year-old Italian who is a back-to-back F3 and F2 champion. He made his FP1 debut in Barcelona in Norris’s car, and Hungary represents his second official session. At Alpine, Paul Aron replaces Franco Colapinto. At Haas, Toyota protege Ryo Hirakawa takes Bearman’s seat, having previously run in Austria. The mandatory rookie sessions rule is doing its job, even if three teams losing their regular drivers during a critical upgrade evaluation is a mildly awkward situation for everyone involved.
Context: McLaren Is 163 Points Off the Lead
Third in the constructors’ championship on 195 points, Mercedes is well clear at the top, and Ferrari sits 90 points ahead of McLaren in second. The title fight is not McLaren’s to win. The battle for third, however, is very much alive, and these updates are the clearest signal yet that the team believes it has finally understood what has been holding the MCL40 back.
Whether a new floor and a rear wing nobody has seen race yet actually closes that gap is another question entirely. The Hungaroring will give a very honest answer, and McLaren has helpfully chosen one of its historically weakest circuits to find out. Bold, or desperate? Possibly the same thing.
