Monday in Formula 1 was marked by the warning that McLaren could change the competition in the second half of the season, as well as the growing contrast between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. Max Verstappen spoke about the farewell to Zandvoort, while Carlos Sainz acknowledged that Williams’ problems delayed the team’s project.
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Johnny Herbert pointed to McLaren as the main concern for Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes after the break. The German team has won eight of the 11 races so far, but the former driver believes that the leap shown by McLaren, especially at the Hungarian GP, could represent an important change. Antonelli leads the World Championship with a 50-point advantage over Hamilton.
McLaren’s growth was also linked to an internal transformation. Racing director Randeep Singh explained that the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella created an environment without a “blame culture,” in which mistakes are analyzed as part of the evolution process. According to him, this attitude gave team members more freedom to make decisions in high-pressure areas, such as strategy.
At Ferrari, Emerson Fittipaldi pointed out a little-mentioned factor to explain Hamilton’s recovery in 2026. The two-time world champion highlighted that smaller cars with less aerodynamic pressure value driver control and sensitivity, characteristics that, in his assessment, favor the seven-time champion. Hamilton is in second place and has already won for Ferrari in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc was again the subject of debate. Otmar Szafnauer argued that Ferrari should not pressure the Monegasque with a specific conversation about his performance and stated that the best path would be to offer support. The former Alpine boss also assessed that Leclerc managed to get closer to Hamilton in the last two rounds, despite still appearing behind the Briton in the championship.
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At Williams, Sainz admitted that the drop in competitiveness in 2026 delayed the plan to win again by “one or two years,” while Alexander Albon explained that the team has been working to solve several minor problems with the car. Both issues gained weight after a start to the season well below the expectations created by fifth place among constructors in 2025.
Verstappen also began to look ahead to the championship’s resumption. The Dutchman lamented that the Dutch GP will leave the calendar after 2026 and is preparing for what could be his last home F1 race in Zandvoort. He has won three of the five editions held since the event’s return in 2021 and has been on the podium in all of them.
Antonelli, finally, revealed a more aggressive side of his personality by explaining that he transforms when he closes the visor. The championship leader said that his “killer instinct kicks in,” although he stressed that aggressiveness needs to be accompanied by intelligence to know when to attack and when to preserve a result.
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