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Leclerc tempers expectations despite strong Ferrari start in Hungary
Ferrari made an unexpectedly strong start during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but Charles Leclerc warns against over-optimism.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-07-24T18:46:18.000Z - 2 min read
On the bumpy and often treacherous Hungaroring circuit, Ferrari enjoyed one of its most convincing opening phases of a race weekend in a long time on Friday. Wind played a major role, making conditions extra challenging for drivers during the first practice sessions for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Yet the red cars appeared to handle it exceptionally well.
During the second free practice session, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, but Charles Leclerc followed right behind, just 0.148 seconds adrift. More importantly, Ferrari held a noticeable margin over the competition, sitting roughly half a second clear of Lando Norris's McLaren. This gave many a Tifoso high hopes for the remainder of the weekend.
Despite this, Leclerc himself remains realistic about qualifying prospects on Saturday. While acknowledging Friday was a strong showing by the team, he does not expect the comfortable margins from free practice to hold once it truly matters. The Monegasque tempers the mood and looks ahead with caution.
"I don't expect us to have today's margin in qualifying," Leclerc remarked following the sessions. He hinted at a potential convergence of the field as teams fine-tune their setups and everyone extracts maximum performance from their cars. Friday performance, after all, is rarely a flawless indicator for the rest of the weekend.
The tricky conditions featuring heavy wind may have painted a distorted picture of the true competitive order. Some teams find their feet faster than others in such circumstances. Exactly what lay behind Ferrari's speed, and whether it stemmed purely from setup or a temporary advantage, will only become clear in the crucial qualifying session.
The Maranello squad will thoroughly analyze the practice data to understand where the advantage originated. The question remains whether they can maintain that trajectory to any degree, or if the opposition—most notably Red Bull and Mercedes—will quickly close the gap. All eyes are on Saturday, when Ferrari's true competitiveness will be revealed.