McLaren impressed in Hungary with its developments, but Laurent Mekies is waiting to see if these improvements will be confirmed on other circuits.
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McLaren made a strong impact just before the summer break. Thanks to a significant set of developments introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the British team returned to the front and allowed Lando Norris to secure his first victory of the season.
Max Verstappen finished second behind the reigning world champion, allowing McLaren and Red Bull to occupy the top two spots together for the first time this year. Ferrari and Mercedes were thus overtaken by two teams that had experienced a difficult start to the season.
Laurent Mekies did not hide his admiration for the progress made by McLaren. The Red Bull director however believes that an important question remains: will the MCL40 be as competitive on circuits with very different characteristics?
A leap forward that impresses Red Bull
McLaren had brought to Budapest a particularly substantial set of developments. The floor was one of the main changes, accompanied by several aerodynamic modifications at the front and rear of the car.
The goal was notably to improve the performance of the MCL40 on circuits requiring a lot of downforce, an area in which the Hungaroring is a particularly revealing track.
“I think the package they brought clearly allowed them to make a big leap forward”, acknowledges Laurent Mekies.
The Frenchman remains cautious about the conclusions to draw from this single race.
“It’s certainly impressive, but let’s now see how it will work on a different circuit.”
The caution of the Red Bull boss is explained in particular by the very specific characteristics of the Hungarian track, where McLaren had already been particularly competitive in recent seasons.
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The Hungaroring, an ideal ground for McLaren
The Woking team had secured doubles in Hungary in 2024 and 2025. Norris’s victory in 2026 therefore marks their third consecutive success on this circuit.
The MCL40, with its relatively short wheelbase, particularly enjoys the quick changes of direction and the numerous corners of the Hungaroring. The new parts were thus introduced on a track favorable to their characteristics.
The real confirmation could come on very different tracks. A circuit like Monza, where low aerodynamic drag and straight-line efficiency play a much more important role, will offer a completely different challenge.
Mekies therefore prefers to wait before considering that McLaren has definitively closed the gap on the championship benchmarks.
Red Bull also progresses
The Red Bull boss nevertheless notes the extent of the progress made by his rival.
“If I just look at Budapest and the leap they made, it’s certainly quite impressive”, he insists.
But the Hungarian performance also represented an important step for Red Bull. Verstappen finished ahead of the two Ferrari and the two Mercedes, confirming his team’s gradual return to the front after a difficult start to the championship.
“I think this is the first race where we, Red Bull and McLaren, beat both the two Ferraris and the two Mercedes. But I must admit that McLaren did a very good job given the pace they had.”
At the restart, one of the main questions will therefore be whether the hierarchy observed in Budapest was linked to the characteristics of the Hungaroring or if McLaren has really taken a step forward that will allow them to regularly fight at the front.
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