McLaren Hungary Upgrade: New Floor but Wing on Hold

McLaren arrives at the Hungaroring 163 points adrift of championship leaders Mercedes, and they need this upgrade to count. The team has confirmed a new floor and additional aerodynamic components will be introduced across Friday and Saturday practice at Round 11, with engineers using all three free practice sessions to gather data before committing to race configuration.

The headline item, however, comes with a caveat. McLaren's experimental rear wing — originally pencilled in for Austria before being shelved — will make its first appearance at a grand prix weekend in Budapest. But the team has been clear: the component is not scheduled to race in Hungary, nor at the following Dutch Grand Prix. It is a data-gathering exercise, nothing more.

McLaren currently sit third in the constructors' standings on 195 points, with Lando Norris fifth in the drivers' table on 103 and Oscar Piastri sixth on 92. A circuit where they have taken one-two finishes in each of the past two seasons offers genuine reason for optimism, but the deficit to Mercedes is steep and the pressure to find performance is real.

Piastri will step out of his MCL40 for Friday's opening practice session, with reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli taking his seat for a second FP1 appearance of the season. Norris runs uninterrupted throughout the weekend.

Senior racing director Randy Singh highlighted tyre management, braking confidence and power unit deployment as the critical variables around the Hungaroring's relentless, low-speed layout. Follow all the action at our race centre. Qualifying at the Hungaroring is scheduled for Saturday afternoon SAST.

First reported by Crash.net F1.