Frédéric Vasseur has admitted that Ferrari’s Hungarian Grand Prix strategy mistakes contributed to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing only fourth and fifth at the Hungaroring. After arriving in Budapest expecting to challenge for a one-two finish, Ferrari failed to reach the podium despite Charles Leclerc starting from the front row alongside pole-sitter Lando Norris.
Ferrari emerged as the biggest loser of the Hungarian Grand Prix after being widely expected to excel on a circuit suited to the characteristics of the SF-26. The outcome was particularly disappointing following the team’s victory at Silverstone and second place at Spa-Francorchamps, with Frédéric Vasseur acknowledging that poor execution prevented Ferrari from capitalising on its potential.
Frédéric Vasseur disappointed by Ferrari’s Hungarian GP result
Ferrari had underlined its potential by finishing first and second during Friday practice, reinforcing confidence in the team’s Hungarian Grand Prix race performance. However, the race quickly became complicated by Charles Leclerc’s poor start, Lewis Hamilton’s penalty and inconsistent pace across the different stints.
“It is not a good result when you finish first and second on Friday and expect much more,” Frédéric Vasseur said. “Fourth and fifth place are the result of a race that was far too chaotic for us. Charles Leclerc had a poor start and then Lewis Hamilton received the penalty. The pit stop was not magical either, and the pace was far too inconsistent from one stint to another.”
Max Verstappen’s ability to complete 37 laps on the Soft compound also highlighted how difficult tyre behaviour was to interpret.
“That was true for us, but also to some extent for everyone,” Frédéric Vasseur continued. “It is difficult to understand how Max Verstappen managed to complete 37 laps on the Soft tyres, but it is what it is. We have to minimise our mistakes, and today we did not do that.”
Ferrari admit soft-soft-hard was the better strategy
Ferrari did not seriously consider replicating Red Bull’s strategy because Max Verstappen stopped later, while the Scuderia believed reaching the finish on the Soft tyres would have been too ambitious. Frédéric Vasseur explained that Ferrari’s strategic preparation was also limited because the team had not completed long runs on all three available compounds during practice.
“We did not consider Red Bull’s strategy because we stopped a little earlier than Max Verstappen, and it seemed ambitious to think about reaching the end of the race without considering tyre life,” the Ferrari team principal explained. “The reality was different. We did not have the opportunity to complete a long run with all three compounds available during practice, so we made two gambles. I can say that our gambles did not pay off today.”
Asked which approach would have produced a better result, Frédéric Vasseur identified the alternative tyre sequence Ferrari should have selected.
“I think our strategy of starting on the Soft tyres was good, but the correct decision probably should have been Soft, Soft and then Hard. That is not what we did.”
The admission followed a weekend in which Ferrari’s starting positions had still offered significant opportunities, even after Charles Leclerc secured a front-row start and Lewis Hamilton dropped to fifth.
Lewis Hamilton penalised for speeding in the pit lane
Lewis Hamilton received a five-second penalty after exceeding the pit-lane speed limit, adding to Ferrari’s growing collection of costly sanctions. Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged that the infringement was not enormous but stressed that the automated measurement left no room for interpretation.
“Today, Lewis Hamilton exceeded the limit by 8.6km/h,” he said. “It was not a huge infringement, but he was above the threshold. With an automatic speed measurement, it is black or white.”
The penalty compounded a difficult weekend for Lewis Hamilton, who had already questioned Ferrari’s qualifying strategy after missing pole position by only 0.012 seconds.
Ferrari lost positions as mistakes began to accumulate
Frédéric Vasseur said Ferrari had arrived expecting to secure a one-two finish after showing that level of performance on Friday. Instead, a combination of execution errors and incorrect decisions left both cars outside the top three.
“We expected a one-two. We achieved a one-two, but not on the right day,” he said. “We made too many mistakes and a lot of wrong choices. We were the only team to lose positions on track, and everything went in the wrong direction.
“There is only one place to overtake at this circuit. Everyone uses their energy there, and if you are slightly slower on the straight, you cannot pass.”
Ferrari nevertheless showed competitive pace at certain stages of the race. According to Frédéric Vasseur, the SF-26 was significantly faster than the cars ahead but could not exploit that advantage because overtaking opportunities were so limited.
“The pace was decent because we were much faster than Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, but we never had even a small opportunity to overtake.”
Clean air proved decisive for Lando Norris
Frédéric Vasseur believes Charles Leclerc had enough pace during the opening stint to remain with McLaren. However, losing positions at the start and then falling behind Max Verstappen created a situation from which Ferrari found it increasingly difficult to recover.
“I think Charles Leclerc had the pace in the first stint to stay with McLaren, but when you are fifth and lose a position to Max Verstappen, who was struggling during the opening part of the race, you lose ground and it becomes even more difficult,” he explained.
“One of the crucial aspects with these cars is having clean air ahead, and we saw that with Lando Norris. When he was leading, he was much faster than everyone else. If you make a mistake, you inevitably find yourself in the opposite situation, so everything starts going wrong from the beginning.
“We lost pole position by one hundredth of a second. One small mistake cost us enormously, and we lost position after position. In this Formula 1, you always have to be perfect to stay at the front.”
Ferrari’s missed opportunity was made more painful by the fine margins that had defined qualifying, when an overnight change in wind conditions helped Lando Norris beat Ferrari to pole.
Vasseur assesses the championship impact
Although disappointed by Ferrari’s result, Frédéric Vasseur praised Lando Norris for executing a strong race and earning his victory. He also attempted to place Ferrari’s missed podium in the broader context of the constructors’ championship.
“I think Lando Norris did very well because he drove an excellent race and deserved the victory,” Frédéric Vasseur concluded. “We did not put everything together, and it became very difficult.
“Despite everything, today was not a disaster for the championship because we scored more points than Mercedes and McLaren. However, I am aware that we could have achieved much more, and that is a real shame.”
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