Martin Brundle shares what McLaren still must prove for Lando Norris to break into F1 title fight

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Lando Norris got his first win as the reigning F1 champion in the Hungarian Grand Prix, yet Martin Brundle wants to see more from McLaren to put them in the 2026 title mix.

McLaren mastered the ground-effect regulations right at the end of the rules cycle, with the Woking outfit taking back-to-back constructors’ championships and taking Norris to the F1 drivers’ title in 2025. Yet McLaren have not adapted as well to the 2026 regulations as some.

While Norris won the Hungarian GP and even took pole at the Hungaroring, he only sits fifth in the 2026 standings after the first 11 rounds. Norris also trails Mercedes racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli atop the table by 91 points, and his teammate Oscar Piastri in seventh is 127 away.

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McLaren must show Lando Norris’ Hungarian GP win was not circuit-specific to eye the title

McLaren’s updates at the Hungarian GP played a big role in Norris beating Lewis Hamilton to top qualifying and get his first pole position this year. The Woking squad’s efforts also helped Piastri to overtake Norris for the lead of the Hungarian GP, before they battled over the win.

READ MORE: Lando Norris’ first F1 drivers’ title in 2025 was defined by seven key moments

Norris and Piastri both ran McLaren’s upgraded floor in Hungary, as well as the outfit’s latest front and rear brake ducts plus various other smaller tweaks, which produced more grip and helped to improve the MCL40’s balance. But Brundle needs to see whether McLaren’s work paid off given the Hungaroring’s characteristics, or whether the MCL40 is now well-rounded.

Brundle told Sky Sports: “If McLaren have made a decent upgrade step which translates well to other circuits – this was the team’s 14th Hungaroring victory – and with the top four ever closer, this championship is far from over. There are still 291 points available, assuming all the remaining races take place.”

No F1 team has been as successful at the Hungaroring as McLaren have been since the first Hungarian GP back in 1986, with Norris’ win their 14th victory on the outskirts of Budapest so far. Williams and Ferrari have scored the second-most F1 Hungarian GP wins with seven.

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McLaren have also won each of the last three Hungarian Grands Prix, with Piastri victorious in 2024 before Norris won the 2025 and 2026 races. The papaya crew may not have had as great a start to F1’s 2026 regulations as they ended the ground-effect cycle, but they know how to ace the Hungaroring and gave Norris and Piastri the tools where they needed them.

While Ferrari were rapid throughout the Hungaroring’s first and final sectors, to emerge as many people’s favourite to achieve pole, Norris beat Hamilton to top qualifying in Hungary because of his speed through the tight and twisty middle sector where downforce is king.

So, Norris and Piastri may have to hope that the Macarena rear wing that McLaren used in practice in Hungary also helps to slash the MCL40’s drag on high-speed circuits to put them in the title fight. McLaren were nowhere at the high-speed Spa just one week before, with Norris 0.440s off Antonelli’s Belgian GP pole lap time and Piastri 18.988s behind in the race.