Formula 1 Focus: Norris sends McLaren a message, Hamilton & Ferrari miss big opportunity

[p]That's a wrap on part one of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with the Hungarian Grand Prix being the last before the summer break.[/p][p]To me, at least, it was one that showed off the positives of the new era of F1 that has started in 2026, with there being precious little between four teams in the fight for pole position and victory. While the new regulations have downright ruined the racing at times, such a competitive multi-team battle at the front was unthinkable for much of the hybrid era.[/p][p]The outcome of that battle in Budapest means the last five races have been won by five different drivers, which provides plenty of promise for the second half of the season. That being said, things would[i] [/i]be looking even more tantalising if the weekend in the Hungarian capital had ended as it really should have done.[/p][p]These are my takeaways from the race.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2]McLaren would be mad to drop [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Norris[/a], even for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Verstappen[/a][/h2][p]Norris said earlier in 2026 that he felt he was driving at a higher level than ever this season but just wasn't able to really show it due to issues with his car. In Hungary, he very much did.[/p][p]He was the fastest man on track all weekend, topping every qualifying session and possessing stronger race pace than all of his rivals. He was admittedly helped by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a] colliding with backmarker Carlos Sainz and then retiring with a gearbox issue, but given his speed, I think it's fair to say the reigning world champion would have claimed victory even without those incidents for his teammate.[/p][p]What the Brit dubbed one of his best performances comes at a time when there's a lot of uncertainty over McLaren's driver lineup, with Max Verstappen holding talks with the team, but the weekend in Hungary made it clearer than ever that they'd be mad to drop Norris, even for one of the greatest drivers of all time.[/p][embed guid="a44db646-b1e5-48bc-8375-d10e6c7816dc" url="https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2081401596194263517" social-type="twitter" /][p]Looking solely at his performances rather than his results, it's hard to disagree with his claim that he's reached another level now that he's free of the pressure that came with fighting to win his first title. He's always been quick, but he's consistent now too, eradicating the errors that had previously defined him as a driver who can crack when the going gets tough.[/p][p]Combine that improved performance with the fact that he single-handedly brings McLaren millions of fans and is a product of their own academy, and it's very difficult to argue that he's anything other than the dream driver for them.[/p][p]Whether Max Verstappen or Oscar Piastri is driving one of the McLarens a year or two from now is up for debate, but you can be certain that Norris will be in the other one.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Hamilton[/a] and Ferrari are making too many unforced errors[/h2][p]Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari missed a huge chance at the Hungaroring to close the gap to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Kimi Antonelli[/a] and Mercedes in the battle for both titles, and not for the first time in recent rounds, they only had themselves to blame.[/p][p]Ferrari lost their driver track position to Antonelli when they opted to pit him under the virtual safety car, and at a circuit where overtaking is far from easy, track position is king. If they'd left the seven-time world champion out, his tyres would have held up fairly well for the last 40 laps going by the fact that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bortoleto-gabriel/8zwcIVil/"]Gabriel Bortoleto[/a] made his last for 49, and he would've had a good chance of holding off his title rival, who would have only caught him in the closing stages.[/p][embed guid="d7a9f446-acd7-45e0-a29a-862b65b00243" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2081389077933203747" social-type="twitter" /][p]Hamilton then lost himself another place by speeding in the pit lane and picking up his fourth of the last three rounds; he was previously penalised for a false start at Silverstone, a collision with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]George Russell[/a] in Belgium, and impeding Oscar Piastri in qualifying in Hungary. Given Russell himself thought their collision was a racing incident and he was just 0.06mph over the speed limit in yesterday's race, it's fair to say he's been a bit unlucky, but he needs to stop giving stewards decisions to make.[/p][p]Finding himself in a title fight and knowing this could be his last chance to win another, he's perhaps pushing [i]too[/i] hard, driving to the absolute limit to try and make the best starts possible, defend positions as much as possible and get through the pit lane as quickly as possible. Considering the excellent pace he's rediscovered this year, I'd say that's not necessary and that he'd be better off playing things a little safer, especially given he's driving for a team that so often make mistakes of their own.[/p][p]All in all, his and Ferrari's errors have probably cost him somewhere around 15 points in the past month, and that's an amount you just can't afford to lose when you're up against a driver/team combo that's barely making any mistakes at all.[/p][p]It's undoubtedly been a hugely positive first half of the season for Hamilton, probably his best since 2021, but there's still room for improvement.[/p][h2]Sainz may be starting to regret choosing Williams over Audi[/h2][p]I'll be the first to admit that many predictions I've made over the last few years have turned out to be absolute howlers, but one is coming to fruition: that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sainz-carlos-jr/l6kEzjTF/"]Carlos Sainz[/a] would regret choosing Williams over Audi.[/p][p]When he did so in 2024, I couldn't for the life of me understand why he chose to join a customer team that had been in the midfield at best for a number of years instead of becoming the lead driver for one of the biggest manufacturers in the world and one of the most exciting F1 projects for a long time. Two years on, I still don't.[/p][p]He made the headlines for all the wrong reasons in Hungary, hitting Piastri after ignoring multiple blue flags while fighting for 14th place, but it's the fact that he was fighting for 14th place to begin with that he'll be most concerned about. The Williams was the second slowest car on the grid all weekend, and quite comfortably too.[/p][p]Audi, on the other hand, scored points for the third round in a row, and moved above Sainz's team in the standings. While Williams are at the very bottom of the midfield, the German team are at the front of it, looking quicker than all of their rivals except the Racing Bulls.[/p][embed guid="cfb06da4-5d2d-44d4-b589-c1464b9db4ce" url="https://x.com/audif1_/status/2081395190514716770" social-type="twitter" /][p]Considering that they're building their own engine, it's quietly becoming a seriously impressive debut season for Audi. You'd have to go back a long, long way to find a team that fared so well in their rookie year while supplying their own power units, and given the financial might of the company, it feels like the only way is up from here.[/p][p]The same can't be said for Williams, who have a much smaller budget, are reliant on getting strong hand-me-downs from Mercedes, and will never be able to integrate those power units with their cars as well as Audi.[/p][p]The good news for Sainz is that his contract ends at the end of this season, leaving him free to explore better options, but whether he can find one better than the chance he had to lead Audi is very much uncertain.[/p][infobox id="68274eb9-a292-466f-8d1c-279fe1b5c54c" /]