McLaren confirm details of new upgrades for Norris and Piastri at Hungarian Grand Prix

The Australian will make way for the reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, who makes his second FP1 appearance for McLaren this season. Filling in for Lando Norris at Barcelona, finished highest of seven rookies who featured in FP1, finishing fifth in the session.

FP1 will be an important session for McLaren, who in a statement also announced that they will introduce a new package of upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as they look to close the gap on Mercedes and Ferrari. McLaren looked more competitive at Spa-Francorchamps despite finishing only fifth and seventh, with Norris saying that he felt like he had the pace to get a podium or even a win if it was not for his grid penalty and a slow stop during the race.

McLaren's package for Hungary includes a new floor and further other aerodynamic parts.

During FP1 only, the team will also run an experimental rear wing, that was previously due to be tested at the Austrian Grand Prix. The new wing is only scheduled for FP1 and is not expected to be fitted fully at either the Hungarian GP or the Dutch GP after the summer break.

McLaren in their statement said: "With braking and cornering an area of focus at high-downforce circuits like Hungaroring and Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, the package of upgrades that will be introduced between this race and the first after the summer shutdown should improve the level of performance in similar circuits with these characteristics. The team therefore acknowledges that the upcoming races are not the optimum conditions for the MCL40. However, while not everything will be solved at once, McLaren remains optimistic in the further upgrades coming for the second part of the season."

Fornaroli is excited to step back in the McLaren this weekend in Budapest. He said: "I’m looking forward to driving the MCL40 in this weekend's Free Practice 1 at the Hungaroring.