Ferrari had its strongest Friday start in a long time at the Hungaroring, yet Charles Leclerc is tempering expectations for qualifying
A dream start for Scuderia Ferrari in Budapest: On the windy and bumpy Hungaroring, the Reds secured a strong starting position during Friday’s practice sessions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the second free practice session, while teammate Charles Leclerc took second place, just 0.148 seconds behind. This put Ferrari half a second ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren.
Behind fourth-place Max Verstappen—whose Red Bull currently appears to be losing ground in top speed and pure pace—Mercedes also had a difficult afternoon. George Russell struggled with rear-axle balance, while Kimi Antonelli slid off the track during his qualifying simulation.
Despite the clear dominance, Leclerc warns against jumping to conclusions ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session. “Tomorrow will be extremely close, as always,” the Monegasque driver emphasized to Sky. “I don’t expect us to be able to maintain this lead. We’ll have to get everything perfect tomorrow.”
New Rear Wing Provides Downforce on the SF-26
One of the factors behind the strong start is a new aerodynamic upgrade: Ferrari brought a revised rear wing to Hungary that provides significantly more downforce, specifically tailored for the twisty circuit. “It was a relatively strong day right from the start. I felt comfortable in the car right away,” explains Leclerc.
At the same time, however, the Monegasque driver is well aware of the dynamics of a Formula 1 weekend: “From Friday to Saturday, other teams often make big leaps. We usually tend to lag behind on Fridays, so it’s good to have a strong Friday. But we have to stay focused and keep working hard.”
Vasseur Sees Tires as Main Reason for Large Gaps
Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, too, is tempering the euphoria in the Red camp with his usual level-headedness. “So far, so good, but on Friday you don’t secure pole position, nor do you win the race,” the Frenchman clarifies. “Tomorrow, the cards will be reshuffled.”
Vasseur attributes the significant gap to the competition primarily to the sensitive Pirelli tires. He says overheating of the softest compound artificially skewed the standings: “It’s extremely difficult to keep the tires in the optimal window for an entire lap. If you lose grip, you lose a lot of time right away. But everyone will improve by tomorrow afternoon.”
In addition, red-flag interruptions during the second practice session prevented meaningful long runs over longer distances. “We had a lot of traffic and had to slow down. We don’t have a clear picture of the race yet—but that’s the case for all teams right now,” Vasseur concluded.
