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.
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