Lando Norris admitted McLaren’s return to winning ways at the Hungarian Grand Prix came earlier than he expected, after the team secured its first victory of the 2026 season at the Hungaroring. Norris said: "I had confidence that we could win a race, and it came a bit sooner than I thought. I have confidence that we can improve in those areas that are not good enough at the time."

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis says the FIA anticipated many of the issues drivers raised after the Belgian Grand Prix about the 2026 cars, but could not make pre-season rule tweaks because manufacturers would not back the changes under F1’s governance process. Tombazis said: "I think drivers are, by definition, quite demanding clients. So I don't think we expect them to have a sugar coat or to not speak their mind. We did anticipate a lot of these things they have complained about in the two years before the launch of the season, and we did try to make some adjustments. But we failed with the governance that was in place."

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the “most important thing” in the team’s push to mount a constructors’ championship challenge is sustaining its development rate through the second half of the season. Vasseur said: "We have a different approach, trying to bring parts every single race, and we have to keep this momentum because it's still 11 or 12 races to go... and we have room for improvement on the chassis everywhere, and we have to keep this pace. The most important thing would be to be able to keep the pace on the development."

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says changes to the ‘tea tray’ area at the front of the floor are the key aerodynamic challenge for teams under Formula 1’s tweaked 2027 rules. Newey said: "On the chassis side, the changes are fewer but still significant. The biggest is to what's often called the 'bib' or 'tea tray' at the front of the floor. The leading edge has been moved by about 300 millimetres, which allows you to run the front of the car lower. That brings a different set of aerodynamic characteristics. The key one for us is that front‑of‑floor change. It gives everyone a different aero challenge to solve."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché said “mechanical gremlins” in the RB22’s steering meant the drivers could not properly feel the car through the wheel in the opening rounds of the 2026 season. Waché said: "Regarding the issue with the car at the beginning, clearly we were missing some load compared to some others. We also had some mechanical gremlins on the car, which meant the driver didn't feel the car through the steering, and we corrected that at the beginning. It took a little bit of time, but it was on top of the overall performance and potential of the car. We had some issues with driver feeling there. It's not a secret."

Mattia Binotto says Audi has set itself the target of fighting for championships by 2030, with the team needing time to close what he described as “huge” gaps to the front in areas such as infrastructure and resources. Binotto said: "We've set an objective of 2030, so our objective is to aim for a championship fight in 2030. It may seem very far away, very distant, but, as a matter of fact, if you look at the gaps I was mentioning, it will take a long time. Certainly, 2030 is coming very soon. But it's a full business transformation for us, and we need to be patient. I think that's the key."
Pierre Gasly says Formula 1 driving is no longer simply about pushing flat out through every corner, because managing battery energy has become so important under the new rules. Gasly said: "I think it went a bit too far because now we have a lot to manage, actually. You've got to be driving efficiently, which doesn't mean necessarily going as fast as you can through all the corners. There is some sort of management and understanding of which corners need to be pushed absolutely to one hundred percent or which ones are you actually better off just taking a bit of margin in your driving and the way you go back on power to get a better lap time out of it."

George Russell says he can now “clearly” see where his struggles with Mercedes’ W17 have come from, after what he described as a challenging, up-and-down first half of the season. Russell said: "I definitely clearly see where it is coming from. I noticed it post-Monaco; it was this clear moment, and that's why I was very pleased with the race in Barcelona. I was on pole, finished second, pole again in Austria, won the race, and felt the momentum was building. But then, obviously, to arrive in Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, to have those challenges, sort of put a stop to that momentum."

Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said the team will not impose team orders to favour Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship, despite the Italian holding a 50-point lead. Bradley Lord said: "The simple principle is, if a Mercedes can win the race, a Mercedes must win the race, and that's what comes first. The team comes first, and the Constructors' Championship is the team's primary focus and primary objective."
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