Charles Leclerc said Mercedes and Red Bull had their engines “turned down” on Friday as Ferrari’s impressive practice form at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix disappeared by Saturday morning. Ferrari arrived in Budapest believing the Hungaroring layout should favour the SF-26 chassis, but Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ultimately had to settle for fourth and fifth place.
The result transformed Friday’s encouraging performance into another painful missed opportunity. Ferrari had appeared capable of fighting at the front, only for the competitive picture to change once the weekend reached its decisive sessions.
Ferrari’s Friday illusion at the Hungaroring
Ferrari headed into the Hungarian Grand Prix hopeful of challenging for victory because, on paper, the characteristics of the Hungaroring should have played to the strengths of the SF-26 chassis.
However, the transition from theory to reality has repeatedly produced surprises during the 2026 season. Ferrari experienced that positively in Barcelona and at Silverstone, but far less happily in Monte Carlo. Budapest must now be placed alongside Monaco among the team’s most disappointing weekends, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth and fifth in the final Hungarian Grand Prix classification.
“When you are first and second on Friday, you expect much more,” team principal Frédéric Vasseur admitted after the race. Following Ferrari’s opening day at the Hungaroring, the Frenchman had again tried to temper expectations and avoid placing additional pressure on the team.
Those precautions proved justified as Ferrari’s early promise failed to translate into a podium. Frédéric Vasseur subsequently admitted that everything had gone wrong for Ferrari during a weekend that had initially appeared so encouraging.
Charles Leclerc explains Ferrari’s Hungary question marks
“There are question marks,” Charles Leclerc admitted candidly to Sky Sport. “I think it is very strange that at two tracks where we expected to struggle – Silverstone and Spa – we achieved a first and a second place, while at others like this one…”
Charles Leclerc’s comments highlighted the difficult-to-explain contrast in Ferrari’s 2026 form. The SF-26 delivered strong results at circuits where the team expected to encounter difficulties, yet fell short at a venue whose layout was theoretically considered favourable.
The outcome therefore left Ferrari searching for an explanation for its changing competitive level from one circuit to another. That inconsistency became the central concern after the race, with Charles Leclerc puzzled by Ferrari’s unpredictable form following another weekend in which expectations and results failed to match.
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