Charles Leclerc’s Hungarian Grand Prix start immediately turned Ferrari’s front-row opportunity into a recovery task. Despite beginning the race from second place on Soft tyres, Charles Leclerc unfortunately dropped to fifth on the opening lap as Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton all moved ahead of the Ferrari.
The setback was particularly significant because the softer compound did not provide Charles Leclerc with the early advantage Ferrari would have wanted against rivals starting on Mediums. Rather than attacking pole-sitter Lando Norris into the opening sequence, the Monegasque lost three positions before the field had completed the first of the race’s 70 laps.
Charles Leclerc’s Hungarian GP start costs Ferrari three places
Lando Norris initially made a solid getaway from pole position, but the McLaren driver then ran wide during the first few corners. That opened the door for Oscar Piastri, who capitalised to take the lead from his team-mate.
Charles Leclerc was the biggest loser in the reshuffle. Having started alongside Lando Norris on the front row, the Ferrari driver slipped behind Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, leaving him fifth by the end of the opening-lap exchanges described in the available information.
The outcome also changed the nature of Ferrari’s race almost immediately. A second-place start had put Charles Leclerc in a position to challenge the McLarens while benefiting from the potential early performance of the Soft tyre. Falling to fifth instead placed several cars between him and the lead, making track position a new obstacle at a circuit where overtaking is traditionally difficult.
Soft tyres deliver no immediate reward for Ferrari
The tyre contrast makes the moment more notable. Charles Leclerc started on Softs while other leading contenders around him used Mediums, but the compound difference did not translate into a positional gain during the opening phase. The visible result was the opposite: Ferrari’s front-row starter lost ground to drivers on the harder compound.
That alone does not establish why Charles Leclerc struggled. The information available does not show whether the decisive factor was the initial launch, tyre grip, positioning into the first corner or the way the opening sequence unfolded. Any technical explanation would therefore require further evidence from onboard footage, team radio or Ferrari’s post-race analysis.
What can be established is that Ferrari did not receive the immediate track-position benefit it might have hoped for from starting Charles Leclerc on the Soft tyre. The Scuderia went from having one car on the front row to seeing its leading driver emerge from the opening lap in fifth.
Lewis Hamilton advances as Ferrari’s order changes
Lewis Hamilton was among the drivers who profited from Charles Leclerc’s loss of momentum, moving ahead of his Ferrari team-mate during the first-lap changes. Max Verstappen also cleared the Monegasque, while Oscar Piastri’s move past Lando Norris placed the other McLaren at the head of the race.
For Charles Leclerc, the key consequence was clear before the Grand Prix had settled into its first stint: the advantage created by qualifying second had disappeared, and the Soft-tyre starter now faced the challenge of recovering from fifth rather than fighting directly for the lead.
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