Hungarian GP facing a fiasco? Lando Norris (McLaren) criticises shoddy work

Parts of the Hungaroring have been freshly resurfaced for the 2026 race. And this is causing problems, as was evident from the very first day of practice – certain sections are barely able to withstand the strain of the Formula 1 cars’ tyres.

Hungarian specialists had to rush to carry out repairs as early as Saturday morning, but the situation has not improved. Furthermore, the tarmac had to be ground down on the approach to the first corner because the GP cars were bottoming out too much when braking.

World Champion Lando Norris is one of the drivers who has been openly critical of the situation. The McLaren driver says: “With the partly new tarmac, which offers grip in some places and not in others, driving through certain corners sometimes feels a bit like a lottery.”

“Anyone can watch the on-board camera footage from our cars, and the last two corners were very difficult to get right. Just look at how we drivers are struggling there. It feels different every time – as if you’re either driving too cautiously or giving it a bit more throttle and then you’re right at the limit; the rear end breaks away, you keep pushing, understeer sets in, then the car breaks away suddenly. It’s very difficult to gauge just how hard you can push it.”

“With the different track surfaces, particularly around Turns 1 and 12, I struggled to get a consistent feel for what I should be doing with the car.”

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Norris on the comparison between the McLaren and Ferrari chassis: “We lose the most in turns 1 and 12 – in braking and cornering speed. We simply can’t keep up in these very slow corners, which we already knew from Monaco.”

“The problems with the track surface aren’t helping. The new tarmac is worse than the old one. That makes it quite difficult to find a good balance. At least this challenge is the same for everyone.”