Ferrari favourites in at F1 Hungarian GP? Why Charles Leclerc is urging caution

Charles Leclerc has urged Ferrari to remain “cautious” about its chances heading into this weekend’s Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. 

After exceeding performance expectations relative to Mercedes at recent high-speed tracks at Silverstone, where Leclerc claimed his first victory of the season, and Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari has been tipped to challenge for victory in Budapest. 

The tight and technical Hungaroring circuit should suit the cornering strengths of Ferrari’s SF-26 car, while Lewis Hamilton holds the all-time record for most pole positions and victories in Hungary. Added to that, Leclerc snatched pole at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix in a far less competitive Ferrari. 

But the Monegasque, who finished less than two seconds behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Belgium, is refusing to get carried away with thoughts that Ferrari could beat Mercedes to the win. 

“We could be, but we could also not be, and we’ll never know until we go there. I think it’s very difficult to predict the level of performance of every team,” Leclerc stressed. 

"I recall very well what the overall feeling was before Monaco, and we arrived in Monaco and were underperforming compared to what everybody thought we would. So, I think we need to be cautious. We just need to do our homework, just like we do at every different track. 

“What we did particularly well over these last two weekends was to really make sure that we maximised our package, and that’s the mentality we should keep for Budapest, without thinking about expectations.”

Asked what his expectations are for Hungary, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur joked: “Nothing! No, because I think everybody will bring the upgrade next week and we don’t know the picture of the performance. Everybody is pushing. 

“You have a lot of performance in the execution on tyre management, tyre preparation, set-up, and the layout of the track. I think if we do the same qualify of job as this weekend, it will pay off, but it is not a given. It’s not a given for us and not a given for the others. Each weekend we are starting from scratch. 

“For sure on paper the layout like Silverstone and Spa are probably a bit more difficult than some others. But on the other hand, in Monaco, we are not shining. That means we have to continue to push, to keep the same approach and never think that it will be ease, because it is never easy.” 

Leclerc ‘not yet’ at the level he wants to be 

Leclerc has enjoyed a strong run across the Silverstone and Spa weekends and finished ahead of Hamilton in both qualifying and the races. 

Despite his impressive uptick in form, Leclerc insists he is still “not yet” at the level he wants to be from a performance perspective. 

"I'm confident in saying that I made a step forward. Whether I'm at the level where I want to perform, not yet," he said. 

"There are still things in the car that I need to drive around. I cannot drive completely naturally, and that is slowing me down in some parts of the race.

"So, there are still things that I've got to work on in order to be better. But surely it was a step forward, and for that I'm happy.

"I'll continue with the one-race-at-a-time approach because, with these cars, it's very difficult to be confident that if one race weekend goes well, the other one will, because it relies on such small details.

"With what you do with your driving, it's never a given that you get the same deployment from one lap to the other, and that's maybe the frustrating bit about these cars."