Brundle: ‘McLaren’s Hungary performance shows F1 title fight is far from over’

By admin — In News — July 29, 2026

   ​Sky Sports F1 pundit and former driver Martin Brundle believes the championship remains very much open after the Hungarian Grand Prix.Lando Norris showed commanding pace at the Hungaroring to claim his first Grand Prix victory of the season. The Briton crossed the finish line more than 15 seconds ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen last Sunday.Meanwhile, for the first time this season, Mercedes was not in contention for victory. In his column, Brundle also admitted he was surprised by the German team’s performance over the weekend.”Having dominated this season so far, Mercedes were curiously off the ultimate pace, and a three-place grid penalty for Antonelli for failing to sufficiently lift for yellow warning flags in qualifying when Verstappen spun in the final corner, meant that he had lined up seventh, one place behind team-mate George Russell who was also struggling for pace.”George had also collected some engine damage with a run over the kerbs in Turn 4 and would need a new power unit fitted for race day. Whether all this new kit was responsible for a truly awful start is not so far certain, but Toto Wolff seemed clear it was a car issue.”Everything on a racing car, and especially a Formula 1 car, is positioned as low as absolutely possible to lower the centre of gravity, and so helping the handling through corners, and this leaves components vulnerable.”F1 championship still remains openAntonelli heads into the summer break with a comfortable lead in the championship. He holds a 50-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton and leads teammate George Russell by 59 points.Brundle believes the title fight remains wide open heading into the second half of the season.”If McLaren have made a decent upgrade step which translates well to other circuits, this was the team’s 14th Hungaroring victory, and with the top four are ever closer, this championship is far from over. There are still 291 points available assuming all the remaining races take place given the Middle East conflict,” the Briton concluded.Norris jokingly warns Antonelli: ‘He should feel the pressure’Speaking to Sky Sports, the Briton warned the Italian with a big smile when asked about whether he could chase him down during the second half of the F1 season. “How many points behind am I? He should feel the pressure, that’s for sure. That will be done in like two races… or ten.”He added: “But I mean, the pressure is on him for sure. There’s no pressure on me, I’ve been feeling very confident. They’ve been making more mistakes as a team, and we’ve made less and we’ve certainly come strong, but I expect them to still win races and expect us to win more races, we just need to be perfect.”  

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