Leclerc heading to Hungary
Charles Leclerc arrives at the Hungarian Grand Prix in his best moment of the season. With 43 points gained in the last two events between Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, the Ferrari driver has put behind him the difficult period that had fueled criticism after his contract renewal with the Scuderia. The Monegasque has been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the races, but above all, he has built results thanks to a solid and consistent race pace.
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Perhaps the decisive spark in qualifying is still missing, at least compared to the Leclerc that Ferrari fans have learned to appreciate and love. And Saturday at the Hungarian GP will indeed be fundamental, because the Hungaroring is a narrow track that does not favor overtakes. For this reason too, Leclerc still sees a Mercedes ahead of Ferrari in the hierarchy despite the Hungarian track effectively hiding the limits of the power unit built in Maranello.
Leclerc’s words
“I think these last weekends have definitely been thanks to the execution. These cars are extremely sensitive even to the slightest imperfection. It really makes a big difference on track,” these are Leclerc’s words in Hungary. “I firmly believe that in the last two weekends we have made the most of these characteristics, and that is the most important thing, even more than the car.”
“Personally, I still expect Mercedes to be the benchmark and that it will be very difficult to beat them in qualifying,” he added. “It is also true that on paper it is a track that should suit our car a bit better. Probably our strength lies in the balance in corners and the grip we have. On a track like this, that is fundamental. So we might be a bit closer, but ultimately everything depends on execution. If you are even slightly out of position, as we saw in Monaco, where we were not exactly in the ideal performance window of the car, you lose more than the car’s characteristics allow you to gain on a favorable track. And that is precisely what we are trying to focus on.”
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For #16, overtakes will be even more complex than in the past: “I think it will be difficult to overtake because the overtake mode is not as effective on this track. In fact, I think it’s even less powerful than DRS, so I believe it will be quite difficult to see any duels on Sunday.”
The Hungaroring weekend therefore represents an important test for Leclerc and Ferrari. A good qualifying session could pave the way for another significant result before the summer break and would send the Monegasque on vacation with a much smaller gap to the competition compared to a few weeks ago. While it is true that Kimi Antonelli remains very far behind (78 points), the gap to Lewis Hamilton has narrowed from 46 to 33 points in the last two weekends.
