Will Lewis Hamilton end his long F1 podium drought at the Hungarian GP?

This weekend's F1 Hungarian Grand Prix offers Lewis Hamilton a chance to end an unwanted personal record.

Just days after the Belgian Grand Prix which brought scrutiny on the FIA's handling of wet conditions, there will be an intense glare on their decision-making in Hungary.

Laurent Mekies is straight back into action with Red Bull hoping for Yuki Tsunoda's revival to continue.

And how will the F1 drivers' championship battle play out?

Here are the top talking points ahead of the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix...

Hamilton’s podium drought

Lewis Hamilton is currently on the longest F1 podium drought of his career.

The seven-time world champion hasn’t finished on the podium since the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, when he was still at Mercedes.

Hamilton has finished fourth on several occasions for Ferrari, but his first rostrum appearance of the year has continued to elude him.

While Ferrari have had their troubles, Charles Leclerc has finished on the podium five times - only the McLaren drivers have more top-three finishes this year.

This weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix should pose Hamilton’s best chance yet.

The Hungaroring is undoubtedly one of Hamilton’s strongest tracks.

He’s won the race on eight occasions, and his most recent F1 pole was at the 2023 Hungarian GP.

Prior to his error-filled weekend at Spa, Hamilton had looked more comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-25.

He had out-qualified Leclerc in three of the previous four races heading into Belgium.

Hamilton’s race pace, relative to Leclerc, remains a question mark - but given the difficulties in overtaking, Saturday will be even more important.

F1 title battle

The momentum in the 2025 F1 title race took another twist after Oscar Piastri returned to winning ways at Spa.

Lando Norris had won the previous two races, and after snatching pole away from Piastri, looked likely to make it a hat-trick of wins.

A poor exit from La Source, combined with a battery issue, left Norris vulnerable on the first lap of racing after the 80-minute delay.

By his own admission, Piastri took “risks” to get ahead of Norris.

The Australian remained typically cool at the front of the field, demonstrating impressive tyre management to come away with his sixth victory of the year.

Piastri returns to the scene of his first F1 victory.

The Australian led the race but fell behind Norris, as McLaren prioritised the latter to avoid being undercut by Hamilton behind.

This led to a remarkable set of circumstances where McLaren had to effectively beg Norris to let Piastri through.

Norris would ultimately oblige - but was keen to prove a point first, opening up a five-second lead over his team-mate.

A win for Piastri this weekend would effectively give him a race-win gap over Norris.

Will Mercedes’ struggles continue?

George Russell has demanded a crisis meeting at Mercedes following another poor weekend at the Belgian GP.

Russell finished fifth, 35 seconds off race winner Piastri.

The British driver has scored just one podium in the last seven races, which was his top-step appearance in Montreal.

Russell has theorised that the flexi-wing clampdown introduced for the Spanish GP has impacted their overall performance.

Mercedes’ downturn in form has had a severe impact on Kimi Antonelli.

The Italian looks to have lost his confidence, cutting an emotional figure in post-qualifying interviews during the Belgian GP weekend.

The 18-year-old has scored points just once in the last seven races, highlighting both his struggles and general misfortune.

With warmer temperatures expected in Budapest, it could be another weekend to forget.

Yuki Tsunoda’s progress

Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying performance at Spa looked like a breakthrough moment.

The Japanese driver was just three-tenths off Verstappen, as he benefitted from a last-minute upgrade ahead of qualifying.

Laurent Mekies revealed that Red Bull had previously prioritised Verstappen in terms of ensuring the new upgrades were available to him as spare parts.

With Tsunoda’s RB21 now closer to Verstappen’s in terms of upgrades, he will need to start delivering points finishes sooner rather than later.

In his defence, Red Bull were entirely to blame for calling him into the pit lane too late during the switch to dry tyres.

Final round of upgrades?

With the F1 summer shutdown approaching, is this the last weekend where teams introduce any major upgrades?

The constructors' championship is effectively sewn up, so it’s unsurprising to hear that Ferrari will only prioritise “small items” or track-specific upgrades for the remainder of the campaign.

Toto Wolff revealed Mercedes will switch their focus to 2026 after the summer break, ahead of the Belgian GP.

While Red Bull continue to bring upgrades to most races, with Verstappen’s title hopes fading each weekend, their attention will likely shift fully to 2026 very soon.