Winner in Hungary, Lando Norris admits that he did not expect to see McLaren find the path to victory so quickly after a difficult start to the season.
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Lando Norris’s success at the Hungarian Grand Prix marked a real turning point for McLaren. After a very difficult first half of the season, the British team finally returned to victory thanks to a significant evolution of its MCL40.
But the main interested party admits it himself: this return to the top came earlier than he imagined.
A start to the season far from expectations
World champion of drivers and constructors reigning, McLaren nevertheless approached the 2026 season with great ambitions.
The first races quickly cooled the team’s hopes. Between retirements due to reliability issues in China and difficulties encountered from the start of the season, McLaren quickly found itself distanced by Mercedes.
After only two Grands Prix, the team was already significantly behind in the constructors’ championship.
Rather than quickly multiplying upgrades, Andrea Stella and his engineers chose a more cautious strategy, preferring to fully understand the behavior of the car before introducing a major development package.
A victory arrived sooner than expected
This patience finally paid off.
In Hungary, McLaren introduced a major upgrade including notably a new floor, aerodynamic modifications at the front and rear as well as revised brake ducts.
The result was immediate: Lando Norris took pole position before dominating the race, winning by more than fifteen seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.
The Briton nevertheless admits that he did not think these progresses would produce their effects so quickly.
“One thing I have learned is not to have too many expectations for the future and to focus only on the present. That is exactly the mindset we have adopted within the team.”
According to him, it is this approach that allowed McLaren to find the path to victory again.
“That is why we won in Hungary: we simply kept working hard, individually as well as collectively.”
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The work is far from over
Despite this encouraging success, Norris refuses to consider that McLaren has become the benchmark on the grid again.
The British driver believes that several weaknesses still remain on the MCL40, notably on certain types of circuits.
“I am optimistic for the future and I think we can win other races. But the competition is very strong and there are still several circuits where I am not yet totally confident, because the car is not yet at the level it should be in certain areas.”
The reigning world champion nevertheless retains full confidence in his team.
“I was confident that we could win a race this season. It just happened a little earlier than I imagined.”
A promising second half of the season
Fifth in the drivers’ championship with 128 points, Norris still lags significantly behind leader Kimi Antonelli.
On the constructors’ championship side, McLaren also remains distanced by Mercedes.
However, the victory obtained in Hungary confirms that the new direction taken in the development of the MCL40 seems to be paying off.
The Briton remains convinced that his team still has a significant margin for improvement.
“I have confidence in our ability to continue improving the areas where we are not yet sufficiently performant.”
If the next upgrades confirm the progress glimpsed in Hungary, McLaren could well become a regular contender for victory during the second half of the season.
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