Friday, July 24, 2026

Ferrari have set the early pace in Budapest. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion now in his second year at Maranello, topped a tricky second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari one-two on a tight, twisting circuit where overtaking is scarce and track position is everything (via Formula1.com). Qualifying on Saturday will show whether the Friday form is real or a fuel-load mirage.

The question hanging over the paddock: can Ferrari hold onto that advantage when it counts? F1's own practice debrief flagged the Scuderia's turn of speed but warned that Mercedes and a resurgent field are close enough to pounce, especially with the Hungaroring's low-grip surface punishing anyone who gets tyre warm-up wrong (via Formula1.com).

Budapest arrives a week after drama at Spa, where Kimi Antonelli beat Leclerc by 1.9 seconds to take his sixth win of the season and stretch his championship lead, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen third. The day unravelled for George Russell, who tangled with Hamilton early, spun into the gravel and retired, a costly non-score for the Mercedes man chasing the title from within his own garage (via Formula1.com).

The 2026 title race has a clear frontrunner, and his name is not Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' standings on 204 points, 45 clear of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton on 159, with his own Mercedes teammate George Russell third on 154 and Charles Leclerc fourth on 126. The new rules have flipped the order: reigning champion Max Verstappen sits seventh on 91, behind both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris (103) and Oscar Piastri (92) (via Formula1.com).

In the constructors' fight it is Mercedes and daylight. The Silver Arrows have 358 points to Ferrari's 285, a 73-point gap, with McLaren a distant third on 195 and Verstappen's Red Bull fourth on 151. At the other end, Aston Martin have scored a single point all year and new entrant Cadillac are still off the mark (via Formula1.com).

Mercedes are winning the title but not without a fright. Antonelli has confirmed a major upgrade package amid what one report calls a reliability meltdown, the team scrambling to cure the gremlins that could yet cost the runaway leaders dear before the summer break (via RacingNews365).

Max Verstappen has laid down his terms. The Red Bull driver says the team knows exactly what it must deliver to keep him for 2027, with team boss Laurent Mekies confirming Verstappen wants to stay but needs a fast car to be happy. Red Bull, only the fourth-quickest package this year and wrestling with their new Ford-badged power unit, are the ones on the clock (via Motorsport.com).

Aston Martin arrived in Hungary with a season to rescue. The Silverstone team that lured in design great Adrian Newey and a Honda works engine has scored just one point in 2026, and its heavily revised B-spec car is the roll of the dice meant to drag it back toward the midfield (via PlanetF1).

Aston Martin have not tinkered, they have rebuilt. The team unveiled a sweeping 16-part upgrade on its AMR26 in Budapest, touching almost every aerodynamic surface: a new front wing, nose, floor, sidepod, engine cover, rear suspension and rear wing among them, with a big chunk of the gains aimed at shedding weight through revised chassis and gearbox architecture (via The Race).

Think of it as stage one of two. The Hungary package is the aero half of the plan, with an upgraded Honda power unit earmarked for the Dutch Grand Prix next month, meaning the true measure of Aston Martin's revival will not land until Zandvoort (via Motorsport Week).

Fernando Alonso is holding the market hostage, and he knows it. The two-time champion says his call on 2026 and beyond will come after the summer break, around Zandvoort and Monza, and insists it hinges on how much he enjoys the current rules rather than whether Aston Martin's new car works. Nothing is signed, so treat retirement and a stay as live possibilities (via PlanetF1).

Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, keeps getting linked to Audi, the outfit he snubbed to join Williams two years ago. Reports have the Spaniard weighing his options as Williams struggle under the new regulations, though Sainz has given his clearest signal yet that he intends to stay put for 2027. Nothing is confirmed either way (via PlanetF1).

Geopolitics is now writing F1's calendar. With conflict flaring again in the Middle East, the plan to slot a rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix back into the season on October 4 looks all but dead, and Malaysia has stepped forward as the replacement. The country's youth and sports minister confirmed the government has received preliminary information about hosting a race at Sepang, the Kuala Lumpur circuit that last held a grand prix in 2017, in the gap between Azerbaijan on September 26 and Singapore on October 11 (via Autosport).

The backdrop is a season already scarred by the crisis. The 2026 schedule was trimmed from 24 races to 22 after the spring rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off, and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has set a mid-September deadline to lock down the back end of the calendar. Sepang's Grade 1 certification and airport-side location, an easy hop from Singapore, make it the practical fix (via Autosport).