It was a positive Friday for Scuderia Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc secured third place in both free practice sessions at the Hungaroring circuit. Meanwhile, his teammate Lewis Hamilton encountered a few more difficulties but still managed to remain within the upper positions of the timesheets. Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, highlighting that the new rear suspension introduced recently represents a step forward in the right direction—one that has brought Ferrari closer to a highly competitive McLaren team.
Third place in the first free practice session of the day, and third again in the afternoon session. It was a Friday marked by consistency for Ferrari, as the Maranello-based team firmly positioned itself as the second strongest force on track. Expectations heading into the weekend had already pointed to a dominant McLaren, and indeed the Woking squad delivered on that forecast. Ferrari’s main objective, however, was to outperform Red Bull Racing—and for now, that target has been met.
The new rear suspension was not expected to work miracles right away, but the goal of this technical update was to enable Ferrari to more consistently play the role of McLaren’s closest rival. Another key aim was to be in a position to capitalize on any opportunities that might arise, much like Red Bull Racing has done effectively earlier this season.
It is on this solid foundation that Ferrari hopes to build for the remainder of the weekend, aiming to continue its progress and score valuable championship points—particularly in the Constructors’ standings. That will be even more important if Red Bull continues to struggle, as they did on Friday in what appeared to be one of their most difficult starts to a race weekend in 2025. Once again, as has happened at other venues this year, nothing seemed to function correctly for the reigning World Champions.
“Charles was very consistent throughout the day, both in the first and second free practice sessions. He also performed well during the race simulation, although it’s only Friday,” said Frédéric Vasseur in an interview with Sky Sport Italia following FP2. The Frenchman analyzed the day’s work as broadly positive and in line with Ferrari’s expectations going into the Hungarian round.
“We still don’t know the fuel levels or engine modes the other teams were using, so we’ll have a clearer picture tomorrow in qualifying. But I believe we’re moving in the right direction—we are a little bit closer to McLaren, and so far, we’re ahead of both Red Bull and Mercedes,” the Ferrari Team Principal added, underlining how important it is to be in front of key rivals even if McLaren still has a performance edge.
Last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Scuderia Ferrari debuted the new rear suspension, and it is clear that a component of this magnitude requires a learning phase. The team is still understanding how it affects car setup, what new options it unlocks, and how best to adjust configurations around it. Nonetheless, Vasseur remains encouraged by the early feedback and results.
“We already made a good step forward at Spa. Even though we’re still in the early stages of using this new rear suspension, we are optimizing the entire system, and we’ve definitely taken a step in the right direction,” he stated, also emphasizing how a few tenths of a second can dramatically shift grid positions in such a tightly contested field.
“The battle remains extremely close—we’re talking about mere tenths. That means a single mistake, or something as minor as the tire preparation lap going wrong, could cost you three positions and leave you behind McLaren and Red Bull. So we need to stay focused on our own work. But yes, we’ve taken a good step forward,” Vasseur concluded.
Despite the Hungaroring not being among his favorite tracks, Charles Leclerc appeared more comfortable than his teammate Lewis Hamilton. In the afternoon session, the British driver switched to a lower-downforce rear wing configuration—similar to the one Leclerc had used during FP1. However, Hamilton struggled with a lack of stability at the rear, frequently reporting a nervous car balance after suffering understeer earlier in the day.
“He’s adjusting the level of rear wing downforce to optimize the balance for tomorrow, but even so, he had a decent long-run pace. He completed a race simulation on the soft compound—it was a useful test both for him and the team,” Vasseur noted. While Charles Leclerc completed his race simulation on the medium compound (though his pace was not on par with that of Lando Norris using the same tire), Hamilton opted for the soft tire to gather different data.
Beating a McLaren team that is currently performing at such a high level—both in qualifying over a single lap and in race pace—will realistically be very difficult. It is unlikely to happen this weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and it may have to wait for other circuits that are more favorable to Ferrari’s strengths. The qualifying session in Budapest is especially decisive due to the nature of the track, and the McLaren MCL39 once again showed its strength by gaining four tenths of a second on Ferrari in single-lap pace.
Nonetheless, Frédéric Vasseur remains focused on the long term and maintains a positive outlook. “Beating McLaren? Yes, it’s always possible. We usually perform a bit better in race conditions than in qualifying. Even today, our long-run pace looked good. It’s true that starting ahead is crucial here in Budapest, but maybe later in the season we’ll have better chances. This weekend, though, we need to qualify in front of them, otherwise it will be difficult.”
One of the potential variables for Sunday’s race is the possibility of rain. However, considering how unreliable recent weather forecasts have been, the team is keeping a close eye on the sky as the race approaches. “Yes, there might be rain. But the weather forecasts for the last three or four events have been a nightmare—they’ve constantly been on the edge between dry and wet conditions. Right now, it seems to be leaning more toward dry weather,” Fred Vasseur concluded.
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