The Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc himself was surprised by his ability to outpace the two McLaren cars during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Leclerc delivered an extraordinary performance in the Ferrari SF-25, a car that was at risk of failing to pass through Q1 and Q2 due to rapidly changing weather conditions. Yet, when it was time to put everything together, Charles truly shined. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton’s struggles deepened, as he sank further into a crisis.
The wind whispered to Charles Leclerc in an unexpected and unpredictable manner, so much so that the driver himself opened the post-qualifying press conference with a revealing statement: “Today, I can honestly say I don’t understand anything about Formula 1.” The result of the Hungarian qualifying session was undeniably surprising, yet there are clear reasons behind it. Beforehand, the pole position seemed destined for a McLaren driver, as indicated by Friday’s free practice results, logic, and common sense. Everything proceeded as expected up until Q2, when a few drops of rain began to fall.
What altered the scenario was mainly a ninety-degree change in wind direction combined with a significant drop in track temperature, which fell from 53.2 degrees Celsius at the start of Q1 to just 36.5 degrees. This sudden shift in environmental factors disadvantaged McLaren and propelled Ferrari towards a pole position that even the most devoted Ferrari fans could hardly have hoped for. These new conditions perfectly suited both the SF-25’s characteristics and Charles Leclerc’s driving style, enabling him to achieve the most surprising pole position of his career—his 27th pole overall.
The Hungaroring had long been described by Charles as his “black beast,” a circuit where success had eluded him. The McLaren cars looked like they were in a different league, but ultimately, it was Leclerc who will start tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position. He was the only driver to improve his lap time between Q2 and Q3, highlighting the general difficulties all other competitors faced. Charles remained very calm yet determined, explicitly asking his team not to put him into traffic when exiting the pit lane.
“These were horrible qualifying sessions,” Charles Leclerc confirmed with a smile, “up until the penultimate lap, it seemed we had taken a step backward compared to FP3. To get through Q1, I was already pushing to the limit and barely made it to Q2, partly due to a mistake in Turn 4.”
“Then, in Q3, the conditions changed for everyone,” Charles Leclerc continued. “I managed to put together a clean lap, and I believe it was a very good one considering how challenging the conditions were. I succeeded, and this is probably the biggest and most surprising pole position I have ever achieved. After Q1 and Q2, I truly thought we would struggle to get into the top five, and even after my final lap, I expected it would be enough for third place—not pole.”
Charles also gave deserved credit to the improved drivability of the car. “The Spa upgrade definitely helped me extract more performance; I no longer have to set up the car as I did at the start of the season. Now we’re in a reasonable window that better matches my driving style, especially when pushing in qualifying.”
For Ferrari, the result achieved today with Charles Leclerc is a breath of fresh air. Regardless of the race outcome—where McLaren remains the favorite—Leclerc’s breakthrough inspires a more concrete hope for a podium finish and, above all, boosts team morale. “What will happen tomorrow? I believe it will rain,” Leclerc concluded. “If that’s the case, it will be easier to overtake. But it’s always better to start at the front, especially on this track, so I’m very happy with my starting position and will be completely focused on maintaining it.”
However, Saturday’s Ferrari weekend also brought a verdict far less satisfying, and it has little to do with the upbeat atmosphere around car number 16. Lewis Hamilton once again failed to make it into Q3, and this time, the result was particularly painful. Being three-tenths of a second behind his teammate is one thing, even finishing immediately behind him (as happened in FP3 with Charles third and Lewis fourth), but finishing qualifying in twelfth place while Leclerc took pole is a very different matter.
Hamilton’s qualifying gap to Leclerc matched the three-tenths difference seen during the morning session, but in Q2, that margin translated into a six-position gap—Leclerc finished sixth in that session—resulting in Hamilton’s elimination before Q3. After witnessing Charles Leclerc’s pole position from the sidelines, Hamilton’s morale plummeted, as he revealed in his interview with Sky Sports UK. “I’m useless, absolutely useless. This is not the team’s problem; if the other car is on pole, maybe they need to change the driver.”
“Rain? I don’t think anything can help me at the moment,” Hamilton added quietly. “Today is a fantastic result for the team. Clearly, the car is capable of being on pole. I can only congratulate Charles and the team.”
Today is not the day for Ferrari to question themselves; Hamilton paid a very high price for his gap, also due to an extremely atypical day. A few months ago, even suggesting any doubts about Hamilton would have been science fiction; today, it may seem like a bold move or even disrespectful, but it is by no means a baseless reflection.
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