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<\/p>\nFormula 1 is set for its final race before the annual summer break with this weekend\u2019s Hungarian Grand Prix, which comes just a week after Belgium.<\/p>\n
It will be the 11th round of the 2026 campaign and marks the halfway point after the earlier cancellations of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Read Also:<\/p>\n
So the season has very much taken shape and there are lots of storylines heading into Budapest, the final grand prix before Zandvoort at the end of August.<\/p>\n
Here are five things to therefore look out for at the\u00a0Hungaroring.<\/p>\n
Is there any way back for Russell?
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George Russell, Mercedes<\/p>\n
Photo by: John Thys \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
One step forward, two steps back, has been the theme of George Russell<\/a>\u2019s 2026 campaign as he fights Mercedes<\/a> team-mate Kimi Antonelli<\/a> for the title. It all started so well for the pre-season favourite as he won the Melbourne opener from pole, and then the Shanghai sprint, but various misfortunes subsequently arrived.<\/p>\n This contributed to the rapid Antonelli winning the next five grands prix to establish a 68-point lead, yet all hope was not lost with only six rounds done. So Russell fought back and cut his team-mate’s lead by 43 points across the next three rounds with runner-up finishes in Barcelona and\u00a0Silverstone, plus a victory in Austria, while Antonelli had two non-scores.<\/p>\n It looked as though the fight was very much on. But then came Spa, where Antonelli delivered a champion\u2019s performance by blitzing the field to pole before taking his sixth win of the season. As for Russell? Well, he struggled to fourth on Saturday before a lap one collision with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton<\/a> ended his race early and perhaps his title ambitions.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n There are now 50 points between Antonelli and Russell, Hamilton is also in the mix sitting 45 off the top, and if the Italian maintains a similar advantage after Spa, it would take a collapse that mirrors that of\u00a0Fernando Alonso<\/a> in 2012. Back then, the Ferrari<\/a> driver held a 40-point lead over Mark Webber<\/a> heading into a summer break but more crucially, a 42-point advantage over Webber\u2019s Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel<\/a>, who became champion.<\/p>\n The Red Bull was a much more superior car though, so for\u00a0Alonso to even be in that position was remarkable. Whereas the Mercedes is the class of the field, so it\u2019d take something extraordinary for Antonelli to not take his maiden crown.<\/p>\n – Ed Hardy<\/p>\n Good omens for Ferrari Charles Leclerc, Ferrari<\/p>\n Photo by: Guido De Bortoli \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Mercedes has been the dominant force at the start of these new regulations by taking pole for all 10 grands\u00a0prix in 2026, converting eight of those into victory. The other two wins belong to Ferrari, as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc<\/a> claimed victories in Barcelona and Silverstone respectively after upgrades to the SF-26.<\/p>\n So, the Italian outfit has been the nearest challenger to Mercedes, though it is still 73 points behind the championship leader. Its deficit lies in\u00a0straightline speed with the German outfit boasting the best engine – regardless of what ADUO says – yet luckily for Ferrari, that doesn\u2019t matter so much at the Hungaroring with its combination of slow-to-medium speed corners.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n \u2018Monaco without the walls\u2019 is the horrible cliche given to the Budapest track. But nevertheless, Ferrari should shine this weekend and claiming its first pole of the year would be a terrific start to the weekend. This is where the omens are good for the Scuderia, as Hungary is where Hamilton and Leclerc both took their most recent poles – in 2023 and 2025 respectively.<\/p>\n Obviously for either of them to go quickest on Saturday is a huge challenge considering the pace of Mercedes, particularly Antonelli, but it is certainly up there as the biggest chance they\u2019ve had all season.<\/p>\n – Ed Hardy<\/p>\n A more conventional F1 weekend after Spa and\u00a0Silverstone? Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes<\/p>\n Photo by: Guido De Bortoli \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n The past two race weekends have been rather painful in a way. Yes, F1 shared fan data suggesting viewers enjoyed the race a lot more than last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, but the reality is that drivers were far from impressed with their power units on energy-starved circuits.<\/p>\n Top speeds dropped dramatically on the\u00a0Kemmel Straight, drivers lost around 50 km\/h through Blanchimont, and Pouhon was no longer much of a challenge with the 2026 cars. Add to that the fact some drivers were caught out by the power unit’s “self-learning elements”, as Andrea Stella described them, and it was hardly a pretty picture.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n The good news is that the\u00a0Hungaroring is a completely different challenge. The circuit just outside Budapest is energy-rich, meaning there will be far less discussion in the paddock about energy management than over the previous two race weekends. That is a refreshing change and also means the cars will be tested in different ways, with much greater emphasis on chassis performance.<\/p>\n That naturally brings Ferrari to mind, while Red Bull also sees an opportunity because the shortcomings on the electrical side of the power unit will be less exposed. But regardless of the competitive picture, the good news is that this should hopefully be a more “normal” F1 weekend again.<\/p>\n Casual fans may not notice the difference, but those who enjoy watching\u00a0onboards and analysing the data certainly will.<\/p>\n – Ronald Vording<\/p>\n Huge weekend for Aston Martin Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Alastair Staley \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n This weekend is pivotal for Aston Martin and its 1000-strong workforce, which has endured a particularly horrid 2026. The signs were there from the beginning upon the late arrival of its AMR26, leading to the Silverstone outfit being the slowest team on the grid and Spa was the worst of the lot with Aston qualifying two seconds behind newcomer Cadillac.<\/p>\n That gap wasn\u2019t so large in Melbourne, so it can be put down to the American squad bringing upgrades to the MAC-26, whereas Aston had bigger problems to address like actually finishing a race before fitting a new front wing and whatnot.<\/p>\n But now is the time for those developments, and Budapest will see the British marque bring what\u2019s essentially a \u201cB-spec\u201d chassis, so big is the upgrade. Hungary had been earmarked for it for a while and chief trackside officer Mike Krack revealed in Spa that the team was \u201ccounting down the days\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, the most important is that we go back racing,\u201d he added. \u201cBecause we have not, over the last events. It was very difficult to keep up with the midfield and whatever it\u2019s going to bring, I think going racing is the most important for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s doubtful that Aston will suddenly progress from the back two rows this weekend, but it\u2019ll be important to at least witness some progress and start to put to bed what has been a demoralising six months.<\/p>\n – Ed Hardy<\/p>\n Silly season to commence Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n F1\u2019s summer break usually marks the start of \u2018silly season\u2019, the time when driver deals for the following campaign get announced. In 2018, for example, the shutdown saw Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> confirm his shock move to Renault, while four years later was the infamous Oscar Piastri<\/a> saga.<\/p>\n It is unlikely anything of that magnitude will occur in 2026, but there are still quite a few open seats for 2027 and expect the rumours to start flooding in this weekend at Budapest. Max Verstappen<\/a> is the main one with his Red Bull future being a hotly debated topic, but the four-time world champion is expected to remain with the Austrian outfit and once he formally confirms that, then the other dominoes should start to fall.<\/p>\n One of those concerns Alonso, whose Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026 and it is currently up in the air whether the two-time champion will race beyond his 45th birthday.<\/p>\n There is also Haas, which is debating whether to keep the struggling Esteban\u00a0Ocon<\/a> alongside the impressive youngster Oliver Bearman<\/a> or to look elsewhere – Rafael Camara<\/a> and Leonardo Fornaroli<\/a> being the two options to have emerged.<\/p>\n Racing Bulls<\/a> is also yet to confirm its full 2027 pairing, as is Alpine<\/a>, Williams<\/a> and Cadillac, though it\u2019s hard to see those teams going for any changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n – Ed Hardy<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n We want your opinion!<\/p>\n What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n
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