When Lando Norris imagined defending his world title, it would surely never have thrown up visions of what ensued from the season opener in Australia to the Belgian Grand Prix a week ago.
An electrical fault meant he didn’t even make the start of the Chinese Grand Prix and he was subsequently forced to retire in Canada and Monaco with gearbox and battery issues respectively.
When he did finally make it to the chequered flag, it was hardly a cause for celebration, his last three grand prix finishes being two P7s and a fourth place.
All the good work of 2025 was slowly ebbing away.
What a contrast in the space of just a week as Budapest proved rather dramatically to be the antidote to a difficult season to date, the moment where the No 1 car was back on top for a first non-Mercedes or Ferrari grand prix victory of the season.
