Piastri sidelined for Hungary FP1 as McLaren tests major upgrades

Oscar Piastri will sit out Friday's opening practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix as McLaren hands his car to rookie Leonardo Fornaroli, forcing the team to evaluate a major upgrade package with only Lando Norris as its regular driver.

Why it matters:

McLaren arrives in Budapest with a new floor and additional aerodynamic components designed to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari before the summer break. With Piastri forced to surrender his seat for a mandatory rookie session, the team must rely on feedback from Fornaroli and Norris to validate critical upgrades during the brief 60-minute window.

The details:

• Rookie run: Fornaroli, the reigning F2 champion, makes his second FP1 appearance after finishing fifth in Barcelona last month.
• Performance targets: The package focuses on improved braking and corner entry at high-downforce circuits like the Hungaroring, building on the MCL40's earlier Miami and Canada overhaul.
• Rear wing test: McLaren will finally trial its experimental 'Macarena' rear wing after scrapping plans to run it in Austria due to garage issues. The concept inverts its mainplane in straight mode but will be removed after FP1 and is not scheduled for raceday, though it could debut later in the season if data proves promising.

What's next:

With the Belgian Grand Prix yielding only fifth and seventh places for Piastri and Norris, McLaren is under pressure to extract immediate performance from its Budapest updates. Fornaroli's feedback will help determine which components the team commits to for the final races before the summer shutdown.