The comments after F1 Hungarian GP practice from Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc revealed contrasting fortunes, with identical SF-25 machinery producing vastly different experiences during Friday’s running.
Charles Leclerc finished third in both Friday practice sessions at the Hungaroring, while teammate Lewis Hamilton battled severe balance issues during Hungarian GP practice that left him nearly seven-tenths off the pace in FP1.
Leclerc’s consistent performance
Leclerc delivered the consistency Ferrari needed across both practice sessions, securing P3 in FP1 with a time of 1:16:791 and maintaining that position through FP2. Speaking post-Hungarian GP F1 practice, the Monégasque driver remained realistic about their chances against a dominant McLaren duo.
“For now, it looks like it’s our position. And realistically, I think it’s going to be very tough to go and beat the McLaren tomorrow. They seem to be a step forward, but never say never,” Leclerc said in the TV pen following Friday’s running.
Leclerc’s assessment of the car’s feel was notably positive post-Hungarian GP practice. “The feeling with the car has been pretty positive so far. We’ve got to do some steps more in the right direction for tomorrow. But for now, the feeling is good.“
When asked whether he felt Ferrari was confidently ahead of Mercedes and other closer competitors other than McLaren, Leclerc stated: “For now, we are, but we can never rule them out. I mean, it’s always very variable from Friday to Saturday. So I think we’ll have to see tomorrow when we come to the track and see with the new conditions whether the pecking order is the same.”
“I’ll say we are a bit in the middle of everyone, behind McLaren and ahead of the rest. So, yeah, let’s see tomorrow. Also, in qualifying in Q3, I hope we can do something better than P3.”
Hamilton’s difficult Friday
Hamilton’s Friday proved far more challenging compared to his teammate’s post-Hungarian GP F1 practice. The seven-time world champion, who has won a total of eight times at the Hungaroring, struggled to find balance in the Ferrari throughout both sessions.
“Today was not a good day for me. Big, big struggle with the balance of the car. And yeah, a lot different to the previous years I’ve been here,” Hamilton explained.
The British driver’s difficulties were evident in the timing sheets. After finishing fifth in FP1, 0.682s behind pace-setter Lando Norris, Hamilton could only manage sixth in FP2 despite Ferrari’s attempts to rectify the balance issues between sessions.
Hamilton provided specific details about the car’s unpredictable behavior, stating “We tried two different things. We tried rectifying some of the balance problems we had in P1. We changed the car to P2 and it’s just inconsistent, very, very inconsistent balance from corner to corner.“
“You can’t say it’s just understeer, you can’t just say it’s oversteer. It’s just far from being on rails and very, very out of balance. But I think it’s probably something to do with maybe high temperatures or something, so we’re going to try and figure that out for tomorrow.“
When asked about Ferrari’s prospects against McLaren’s pace, Hamilton remained pessimistic about his own chances while acknowledging his teammate’s stronger performance. “I mean, Charles has been quick today, so he’s generally been happy with the car. For me, I’m quite far off, so I highly doubt it.“
Looking ahead
Ferrari’s engineering team faces a crucial overnight period to understand why the Ferrari teammates post-Hungarian GP practice experienced such different fortunes. The divergent feedback from Leclerc and Hamilton creates a complex picture for the Scuderia’s technical team to analyze.
While Leclerc expressed confidence about challenging for an improved qualifying position, Hamilton’s admission that he was “quite far off” suggests Ferrari may need to prioritize getting both cars safely through to Q3 rather than challenging McLaren’s dominance.
The stark difference in opinion between the Ferrari teammates after Hungarian GP practice serves as a reminder of how fine the margins are in modern Formula 1, where identical machinery can produce vastly different results based on setup, driving style, and track conditions.
