Mercedes were on the back foot at the Hungarian Grand Prix as their engine customer team McLaren brought upgrades to their MCL40, which appeared to place it ahead of its rivals. Going into the weekend at the Hungaroring, Ferrari were expected to be favorites for the trophies and during the practice sessions looked as though they would fulfill such expectations.
Yet come qualifying, it was Lando Norris who claimed pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who then suffered a three-place grid drop for badly impeding McLaren’s other driver, Oscar Piastri, on his final run in Q3.
This promoted his teammate, Charles Leclerc, to P2, while a further penalty for Kimi Antonelli meant Oscar Piastri would start in P3 behind his teammate. The Australian grabbed an opportunity at Turn 2 on the opening lap to dive past Leclerc and into the lead as Lando Norris ran wide.
McLaren’s Dominance and Mercedes’ Struggles
From then on, the McLaren duo began to build a comfortable lead that Ferrari had no answer for. Norris was the quicker of the papaya-liveried drivers and regained the lead through the pit stop sequence. It seemed to all that McLaren would again take a 1-2 finish in Hungary before Piastri stopped with a mechanical issue in his gearbox.
Mercedes now look to be truly on the back foot, although Kimi Antonelli did make the podium while his teammate George Russell was forced to drive through the field from the back after a faulty start procedure from his W17.
Wolff Fumes Over Reliability and Traffic
Team boss Toto Wolff remained defiant at the end of the race, commenting to Sky F1: “Yet again, we had a problem screwing George’s start. It’s not acceptable and not good enough from us.” He also complained about the “Teletubby” engineers from other teams who failed to keep their drivers in the loop when his drivers were coming to lap them.
“Overall, a day I’m just not happy about the whole situation,” added the Austrian. “But when I calm down, we will take a solid gap in the drivers’ championship over the summer, a good gap in the constructors’ championship. And that is a credit to a fast car, a great team—at times, unlucky, like with the VSCs again, but also not good enough in reliability.”
Title Fight Remains Open Despite Healthy Points Gap
Mercedes lead the Constructors’ Championship by 72 points from Ferrari and 159 from McLaren, which in any regular F1 season should see them home and hosed come the end of the year. Similarly, Kimi Antonelli has dominated the drivers’ title race and sits 50 points ahead of his nearest rival, Lewis Hamilton, and 59 ahead of his teammate.
As Max Verstappen demonstrated last year, such a points deficit—while historically a winning margin halfway through a season—is not guaranteed in the modern era. Max closed down a 104-point deficit to the championship leader at the 2025 summer break, ultimately losing out to Lando Norris by just two points come the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
So with just half the season complete, the honours for 2026 are far from decided.
Wolff Laying Groundwork for Verstappen’s Arrival?
Toto Wolff, in a bizarre departure from the present concerns he has for his team, now appears to be preparing the way for Verstappen to join his team sometime in the future.
When asked in Hungary about how he would cope with another toxic intra-team battle like the one he suffered during the Hamilton/Rosberg years from 2013 to 2016, Wolff was adamant he would merely ditch one driver to prevent this from occurring.
“I will not allow it,” RacingNews365 reported when Wolff was asked about the potential for a repeat situation. “That’s never going to happen to me again. That’s never going to happen to the team again. Simple. I’m just taking a driver out if he does that.”
It all seemed rather unnecessary with Antonelli leading Russell by such a decent margin, yet Mercedes’ unreliability could hit their rising Italian star in a similar fashion to how it has hit George, closing the gap to almost nothing. Then the tension would rise dramatically in the Mercedes garage.
Shadows of the Explosive Hamilton vs. Rosberg War
There were numerous flashpoints in the Rosberg/Hamilton fight for supremacy as the relatively new team boss Toto Wolff battled to retain control of his drivers at war.
In 2014, Rosberg held provisional pole in Monaco, then appeared to suffer a lock-up going into the Mirabeau escape road, meaning his teammate and the other drivers behind him were forced to lift under yellow flags and couldn’t improve their final Q3 laps.
That same season in Spa, Rosberg clipped Hamilton’s rear tyre on Lap 2, causing a puncture for the British driver and damaging Rosberg’s own wing. Mercedes management (Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda) publicly berated Rosberg, imposing heavy internal fines.
At the USGP at COTA, Hamilton forced Rosberg wide on the opening lap at Turn 1 to take the lead. After a late Rosberg error gave Hamilton the win and his 3rd Drivers’ Championship, a frustrated Rosberg notoriously threw his podium cap back at Hamilton in the cooldown room.
Hamilton was just as guilty in the battle for Mercedes supremacy. At the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix on Lap 1 in Barcelona, Rosberg defended against an optimistic move from Hamilton into Turn 4. Lewis had to take evasive action onto the grass, lost control, and spun into Rosberg, taking both Mercedes out of the race. Toto Wolff threatened to suspend both drivers if another collision occurred.
At that year’s season finale, Rosberg led the championship heading into the final race. Hamilton, leading the field, deliberately backed Rosberg into the chasing Red Bull and Ferrari cars in a desperate attempt to force Rosberg down to P4. Rosberg held his nerve to finish P2 and claim his 1st Drivers’ Championship.
Could George Russell Be the Odd Man Out?
These were just a few of the incidents that plagued Wolff during the years when Hamilton and Rosberg were his drivers, yet the biggest casualty of retaining that pairing was that Toto missed out on the opportunity to sign Max Verstappen—something he has rued to this day.
With Verstappen refusing to commit to Red Bull publicly until his contract expires in two years’ time, Wolff may need an exit clause to rid himself of one of his drivers. When Antonelli and Russell went wheel-to-wheel in Canada with some close-contact racing, it seemed for all the world that the Rosberg/Hamilton era would return to haunt Wolff.
For now, the unreliability of the W17—together with the mystery issues on Russell’s car that see him repeatedly slower along the straights than his teammate in identical machinery—means Wolff has no reason to chastise or dismiss either of his drivers.
Were Verstappen to decide to move to Mercedes, it would surely be George Russell who is forced to make way for the quadruple World Champion. Yet paddock rumours suggest Verstappen may have his eye on a move elsewhere: to the impressive and resurgent McLaren team, in a shuffle that could see Oscar Piastri switch to Red Bull Racing.
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The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
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