McLaren confirm huge Hungarian Grand Prix upgrade

McLaren will bring a significant package of upgrades to the MCL40 for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, with a new floor and additional aerodynamic parts set to be evaluated across free practice at the Hungaroring.

The Woking-based team currently sits third in the constructors' championship on 195 points, trailing leaders Mercedes by 163 and Ferrari by 90.

The centrepiece of the package is a revised floor, accompanied by further aerodynamic modifications that the team will assess during Friday and Saturday practice sessions.

Reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli will also step into the MCL40 for FP1 in place of Oscar Piastri, fulfilling the mandatory young driver running requirement.

Beyond the race-specification parts, McLaren will also use the opening practice session to evaluate a developed version of its experimental rear wing, the same item that was originally due to run at the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this season.

That test was abandoned in Spielberg after the assembly failed pre-session checks in the garage and never turned a wheel, with the wing subsequently shipped back to Woking for further work.

McLaren has stressed that the rear wing remains a test item only. It is not scheduled for competitive use in Hungary or at the following round in the Netherlands.

Team principal Andrea Stella has framed the Budapest upgrade as a turning point in the MCL40's development trajectory.

"We now have a clear direction in terms of development, but in some areas of the car it took a couple of months to get it to be realised," Stella said recently.

"So, we should see in Hungary the first results of this approach and then hopefully more and more upgrades for the rest of the season."

The team acknowledges that the Hungaroring and Zandvoort, the two circuits either side of the summer break, do not represent the optimum conditions for their car.

Both tracks place a premium on braking and low-speed cornering, characteristics where the MCL40 remains a work in progress.

The upgrades arriving between now and the resumption of racing in the Netherlands are targeted at precisely those weaknesses, however, offering grounds for cautious optimism heading into the second half of the campaign.

The Woking-based team currently sits third in the constructors' championship on 195 points, trailing leaders Mercedes by 163 and Ferrari by 90.