The Monday of Formula 1 was marked by the alert that McLaren could alter the fight in the second half of the season, in addition to the increasingly pronounced contrast between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. Max Verstappen spoke about Zandvoort’s farewell, while Carlos Sainz acknowledged that Williams’ problems slowed the team’s project.
Johnny Herbert pointed to McLaren as the main concern for Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes after the break. The German outfit had 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 a major shift. Antonelli leads the World Championship with a 50-point cushion over Hamilton.
The growth of McLaren was also linked to an internal transformation. Race director Randeep Singh explained that the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella created an environment without a “culture of blame,” where mistakes are analyzed as part of the evolution process. According to him, this stance gave team members more freedom to make decisions in high-pressure areas, such as strategy.
At Ferrari, Emerson Fittipaldi pointed to a factor rarely mentioned to explain Hamilton’s resurgence in 2026. The two-time champion noted that smaller cars with less aerodynamic pressure reward the driver’s control and feel, traits that, in his view, favor the seven-time champion. Hamilton sits in second place and has already won for Ferrari in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc returned to being a topic of debate. Otmar Szafnauer argued that Ferrari should not pressure the Monegasque with a specific talk about his performance and stated that the best path would be to offer support. The former Alpine chief also assessed that Leclerc managed to close the gap to Hamilton in the last two races, even though he still trails the British driver in the standings.
At Williams, Sainz admitted that the drop in competitiveness in 2026 set back the plan to win again by “one or two years,” while Alexander Albon explained that the team has been working to fix several minor car problems. The two issues gained importance after a season start far below the expectations set by a fifth place among constructors in 2025.
Verstappen also began looking toward a title-run. The Dutchman lamented that the Dutch Grand Prix will leave the calendar after 2026 and is preparing for what could be his last F1 home race in Zandvoort. He has won three of the five editions held since the event’s return in 2021 and has stood on the podium in all of them.
Antonelli, for his part, revealed a more aggressive side of his personality when explaining that he becomes transformed when the visor goes down. The championship leader said his “kill instinct kicks in,” although he stressed that aggression must come with intelligence to know when to attack and when to protect a result.
