McLaren victory leaves 2026 F1 title race "far from over", says Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle believes McLaren’s Hungarian GP victory has left the 2026 F1 championship far from over, with 291 points still available
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Sky Sports F1 pundit and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle believes the 2026 championship remains "far from over" following McLaren's Hungarian Grand Prix victory.
Writing in his post-race Sky Sports F1 column ahead of the August summer break, the former driver analysed the shift in the competitive order. McLaren's latest development package yielded the Woking outfit's 14th win at the Hungaroring.
"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 ever closer, this championship is far from over," he wrote.
Assuming the remainder of the calendar goes ahead, 291 points remain up for grabs. There is some uncertainty over the Qatar Grand Prix and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which could be affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Contingency plans are being formulated for a potential European replacement round in late November or early December.
The Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix were cancelled in April due to the same conflict. F1 has now confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix will be relocated to Malaysia's Sepang circuit and will take place from 2-4 October.
"There are still 291 points available assuming all the remaining races take place given the Middle East conflict," Brundle continued.
Martin Brundle
Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images
"On that subject, the Bahrain GP will now be run at the very popular Sepang circuit in Malaysia. This is the same impressive lateral thinking and flexibility F1 and its partners showed during the pandemic and I applaud it.
"It sounds as if there will definitely be a European replacement race in late November or early December if Qatar and Abu Dhabi can't take place. We may need to fit some headlights and wipers for that race but the teams and drivers will handle it in their stride as usual."
F1 will return for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from 21-23 August.
Share Or Save This Story
Mercedes no longer needs Max Verstappen, says Guenther Steiner
George Russell still carries scars from 2020 Mercedes F1 call-up
King Willem-Alexander to present F1 Dutch GP winner's trophy at Zandvoort
Martin Brundle praises F1's "lateral thinking" over Malaysia return
Martin Brundle sets major target for Aston Martin's F1 Hungarian GP upgrades
Martin Brundle proposes three fixes to avoid F1 safety car finishes after British GP
F1 2026 mid-season grades: McLaren starts on back foot but makes rapid progress
Could McLaren follow Red Bull’s path with its own F1 engine – and should it?
The subtle but significant changes McLaren will make for its 2027 F1 car
IndyCar Markham starting lineup: Louis Foster storms to pole as Alex Palou crashes
Nicki Thiim hits out at DTM and AMG: "What’s going on here is a disgrace"
Will Power crashes hard in second IndyCar Markham practice
Kaden Honeycutt earns dominant NASCAR Truck win at Richmond
Could McLaren follow Red Bull’s path with its own F1 engine – and should it?
Top 10 rookie seasons in F1
Why F1 shouldn’t be hiding its most interesting characters
100 not out: Alex Albon on Williams’s desire to atone for its 2026 struggles
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments