Formula 1: All chasing the McLarens in Hungary, Verstappen confirms his future at Red Bull

On the narrow Hungaroring circuit near Budapest, the venue for the ^14th round of the 24-race season, Australian Oscar Piastri - who won his first F1 victory here last year - will attempt to maintain his championship lead on Sunday so he can go on holiday with peace of mind.

However, beware of Lando Norris , who is second overall. Since the beginning of the year, the two McLaren drivers have been engaged in a high-flying duel. Piastri has six victories to Norris's four.

"There is very little difference between them and that is explained by the fact that these two race at a very high level," said team boss Andrea Stella on Sunday, after the Belgian GP where McLaren achieved its sixth double of the season . If the fight for the world crown continues like this, "the difference will be in the precision, the accuracy and the quality of the execution," the Italian added.

In the meantime, they will fight on Sunday to give their prestigious team a historic ^200th Grand Prix victory, 57 years after the first one by the eponymous founder Bruce McLaren.

In the drivers' standings, Piastri leads by 16 points over his English teammate. Verstappen, winner of two of the three races McLaren has missed this year (Japan and Emilia Romagna), is third, 81 points behind the leader. Behind him, Britain's George Russell, in fourth ^place , is 28 points behind the four-time defending champion.

While Verstappen won't be able to take the reins of the championship on Sunday against McLaren, he is already certain to hold on to his third place before going on vacation, with up to 25 points up for grabs this weekend. A trivial position for a multi-champion like "Mad Max," but one that could have weighed on his future at Red Bull.

Indeed, according to the specialist press, Verstappen has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the team before the end of 2028 if he does not finish in the top three in the drivers' championship during the summer break - a clause that can no longer be applied.

Amid speculation that he would be joining Mercedes next year, Verstappen confirmed on Thursday that he would indeed drive for the Austrian firm in 2026: "I think it's time to put an end to all these rumors, it has always been very clear to me that I would stay."

Asked in recent weeks about his future at Red Bull, only fourth in the constructors' championship, the Dutchman had never clearly expressed his intention to stay until now.

With his future decided, Verstappen is arriving at a track that is unlikely to be entirely suited to his car. "The Hungaroring hasn't always been our most favourable circuit," admitted the reigning champion, who will be competing in his ^200th GP with the Austrian team this weekend. "It's difficult to overtake, so we'll have to make sure we have a good qualifying," he added.

Among the outsiders, it should not be forgotten that the Hungaroring is the kingdom of Lewis Hamilton , who has won there eight times with McLaren and then Mercedes. He also has nine pole positions. Does he think he can improve his record statistics at the Hungaroring this weekend? "We've been so far from pole position most of the time this year, so let's move forward gradually," the seven-time champion said on Thursday.

Having moved to the Ferrari flag this season, Hamilton is still waiting for his first podium with the Scuderia, whose boss Frédéric Vasseur extended his contract for several years on Thursday.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is the last chance to score points before F1 heads into its summer break until the Dutch Grand Prix on the weekend of August 31. Verstappen will then have ten rounds left to try to retain his crown against the formidable McLarens.