According to Ferrari drivers, the result of the Hungarian Grand Prix is the sad truth: they are still far behind the top two teams, and can only hope to climb the podium with luck.
Friday’s practice results may have painted a promising picture for Ferrari’s weekend in Hungary, but Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have been cautious and suggested that McLaren and Red Bull still have the edge over them. Saturday’s qualifying session confirmed their presence: Sainz was fourth and Leclerc sixth on Sunday, and they were 5-7 tenths behind the trio of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, who were just half a second behind in tenth.
“I think this third quarter was the best,” Sainz announced. “In terms of classification, I think fourth could have been our target. Overall, I’m happy with the weekend. In FP1, FP2 and FP3, in Q1, Q2 and Q3, I put together a few strong laps. It’s a very strong weekend, and unfortunately fourth is the best you can get today, with McLaren and Red Bull three to four tenths ahead.”
Leclerc also felt that was the limit, and was not the most upset by the fact that he was beaten by a team-mate who had looked better than him all weekend. “What bothers me the most is that our performance is poor. Carlos is driving very well this weekend. He finished fourth, and I think that's where our car is. I did a really good job. I finished sixth, with a slight blemish. My nails weren't clean.”
“Fifth place was within reach, but fourth and fifth as a team was the best we could do. The biggest problem is that we don’t have the pace we had at the start of the season.”
Monaco said.
He said on Thursday he had tried extreme settings in recent weekends to help the team get to the bottom of the bounce caused by the floorboard in Barcelona. He insisted there was nothing like that this weekend. “I knew before the weekend that it would take more time to get back to the level of McLaren and Red Bull, but I think it was the best decision to stop testing. It was important for us to make the most of this weekend and to be honest we did that. The biggest problem is that we don’t have the performance for more. That’s what we will focus on in future developments.”
According to Sainz, the fact that the weather had changed compared to Friday did not help them either. “We did everything we could to improve our car in free practice, but the track was quiet over the weekend, which probably didn’t help us.”
Charles Leclerc (Photo: MTI/Zoltán Balogh)According to Leclerc, they can't make excuses. “It was difficult, especially in this type of weather that we didn’t expect. It got smoother after that, but the performance wasn’t good enough. Fourth, maybe third fastest is our car. We are at a very similar level to Mercedes. I don’t know how their long stages were. On the other hand, McLaren and Red Bull unfortunately have a very big advantage.”
Sainz believes they can only dream of a podium finish with luck.
“Based on the raw pace, I think it will be very difficult. The top three cars are difficult to beat. Behind them there could be a big fight for fourth, which could turn into third, second or first if something happens up front.”
– He missed opportunities.
Leclerc is already prepared for a tough afternoon for his team. “At least we know we won't be surprised. We'll try to score as many points as possible as a team and see how far we can go,” he added.
However, he added: “Things can change in warm weather. Tyre management will also be an important aspect. We have to work on that, we have to prepare.”
