A Promising Friday for Ferrari
After a trio of races that undermined all the certainties built at the beginning of the season, the first two practice sessions at the Hungaroring circuit in Budapest showed a Ferrari that seems at least capable of contending for the podium. However, McLaren and Red Bull still appear to have an edge, with Lando Norris setting the best time of the day ahead of the heavily revised RB20 of Max Verstappen, and showing enviable consistency in race pace.
Carlos Sainz secured the third-best time, confirming his strong morning performance, finishing the qualifying simulation just under four-tenths behind the British driver’s MCL-38. The Spaniard also delivered a solid long run on mediums, experiencing a slight but expected drop-off at the end of the stint.
On the other hand, Charles Leclerc, who has been going through a particularly challenging period, had to abandon the second session early due to a mistake in turn 4, which caused him to crash heavily into the barriers, resulting in significant rear-end damage.
Despite this setback, which prevented the Monegasque driver from completing the work program, Frederic Vasseur remained optimistic about the car’s performance on the track today: “We have good pace in the short run; the race pace is more complicated.” – the French manager admitted.
“We’ve made progress, but we must stay vigilant. Charles knows he made a small mistake, but he was fast. He will reset everything for tomorrow. It’s a shame we couldn’t do a long stint with him. We need to react as a team. We are a group.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.
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