Charles Leclerc (Ferrari/3rd): “I did a poor job”

Who would have thought it? Only three of the last twelve Hungarian Grand Prix winners started from pole position – Sebastian Vettel in 2017, and Lewis Hamilton in 2018 and 2020. Over the same period, three drivers won from P2: Lewis Hamilton in 2016, Max Verstappen in 2023 and Oscar Piastri in 2024. So, in twelve years of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the winner has only started from the front row once in every two races!

That may be some small consolation and a motivational boost for Silverstone winner Charles Leclerc, who finished the thrilling Hungarian qualifying session in P3, behind Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. As always at the Hungaroring, the gaps were tight.

Leclerc was chasing his first pole here in exactly a year; it would have been his second at the Hungaroring since 2025. But it was not to be. Charles said: “The wind changed today, and I did a poor job of anticipating what that would mean for the balance with the set-up.”

“The car didn’t feel as good as it did in the third practice session, and things didn’t quite go to plan in qualifying. In Q2, I was unlucky with the yellow flag on the final section of the track; I always felt I was playing catch-up, and Lewis was simply the faster man today.”

“The driving feel wasn’t perfect. I needed two sets of fresh tyres in Q2. I’m losing too much time to Lewis and Lando at Turns 1 and 12; we’ll need to take a closer look at that. When the gaps are so small, you really have to maximise your performance, and I didn’t manage to do that today.”

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“I’m optimistic about the race, as things went well on Friday. But that doesn’t automatically guarantee me a good Grand Prix. It seems the others have taken a significant step forward, so I’m expecting a lot of competition.”