Is McLaren a real contender for the Formula 1 title?

With Mercedes' undisputed dominance from the start of the season now a thing of the past, Formula 1 in 2026 has finally become the development war it always promised to be with the advent of new technical regulations.

Following numerous upgrades from Red Bull and especially Ferrari in recent weeks, it was McLaren's turn to add another element to their package from Miami and Montreal, introducing a new floor – an expensive component that would be particularly effective on a high-downforce track like the Hungaroring.

This allowed Lando Norris to secure McLaren's first victory of the season from pole position, although, of course, the reigning world champion's win was anything but easy. But once on clear track, Norris was clearly in a class of his own, and by all accounts, the team should have achieved a one-two finish with Oscar Piastri, regardless of the order.

Is McLaren's triumph in Hungary sufficient proof that the reigning champion is back?

Although Norris delivered an excellent second qualifying session to improve on his first, where he struggled with significant oversteer exiting the final corner, the Briton took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012 seconds. The Ferrari driver was one of several struggling to find time on their final lap.

Between the grid penalty for impeding Piastri and additional errors from Ferrari on Sunday, it's clear that the Scuderia underperformed and didn't realize its full potential. Considering how crucial track position is in Budapest, a pole position for Hamilton or Leclerc could have painted a very different picture.

Mercedes also failed to have a clean weekend, which began with choosing the wrong setup direction on Friday, from which they had to recover. Nevertheless, in the hands of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, the W17 looked quick on long runs on Friday.

Mercedes, therefore, wasn't brimming with confidence heading into the race, but Antonelli's pace and George Russell's impressive recovery after a poor start showed that the "Silver Arrows" still possessed significant speed. Antonelli lost positions during the virtual safety car period due to Piastri's stalled car.

His McLaren counterpart, Andrea Stella, was fully aware that as much as his team deserved to celebrate the reward for their hard work in introducing the upgraded floor before the summer break, they might have overachieved in Hungary while their rivals faltered.

"I think Ferrari still has the best chassis in terms of cornering grip. This is very evident under braking," Stella said on Saturday after qualifying. "Pole position is a bit of an overachievement for us, thanks to the execution and maximizing the available potential."

After Sunday's race, Stella added another detail.

So, while there's no need to overreact to McLaren's first victory of 2026, the Constructors' Champion at least has the tools to be in the fight with Mercedes and Ferrari. The good news for neutral fans is that instead of one team dominating, the margins are small enough for elements like track-specific strengths, weather conditions, and on-track execution to play a significant role in tipping the scales one way or another.

Alongside the reliability issues plaguing McLaren and Mercedes, the biggest unknown is exactly how much more speed and stability teams can extract on track.

We will likely see significant upgrade packages from all teams at Zandvoort and Monza after the summer break. These upgrades are already in development as teams shift their focus to 2027. So, instead of taking Hungary as a snapshot of the pecking order, the 2026 season will continue to be decided by the raging development war in the factories.