Toto Wolff admitted that Lewis Hamilton appeared to be the driver to beat at the Hungarian Grand Prix before Ferrari’s weekend unravelled, allowing Mercedes championship leader Kimi Antonelli to strengthen his position instead. What initially looked likely to become a damaging race for Mercedes ended with Kimi Antonelli extending his advantage over Lewis Hamilton to 50 points.
Kimi Antonelli secured third place at the Hungaroring, while a five-second penalty left Lewis Hamilton fifth behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. The result represented an unexpected bonus for Mercedes after Ferrari had arrived as the favourite and established a commanding advantage during Friday practice.
Toto Wolff expected Lewis Hamilton to lead the Hungarian GP fight
Ferrari’s SF-26 is regarded as the leading 2026 Formula 1 car through the corners, although its engine performance has remained a limiting factor compared with title rival Mercedes. The Scuderia’s performance at the Hungaroring initially supported that assessment, with its cornering strengths helping Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc control Friday’s running.
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in FP1 before Lewis Hamilton led a dominant Ferrari one-two in FP2. The two Ferrari drivers ended the afternoon session approximately four-tenths of a second ahead of the chasing pack, reinforcing expectations that the team would fight for victory.
Speaking to Molly Hudson of The Times, Toto Wolff indicated that Lewis Hamilton had looked like the likely winner throughout Friday and into Saturday morning. The Mercedes team principal was therefore pleased that his team ultimately left Hungary having gained several points on the Ferrari driver.
Ferrari’s strong Friday pace was partly built around its cornering performance, although the team’s aerodynamic choices also carried compromises. A subsequent analysis of Ferrari’s high-downforce Hungarian GP configuration highlighted how the chosen rear-wing level affected Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as the weekend developed.
Ferrari’s qualifying advantage disappears in Q3
The direction of the weekend changed during the final part of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton held provisional pole position after the opening Q3 runs, but Ferrari elected to send both cars out early for their final attempts. Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc improved, allowing Lando Norris to claim pole position for McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton’s situation then became more difficult when the stewards imposed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri. The sanction moved Charles Leclerc onto the front row but pushed Lewis Hamilton further back for the start.
Ferrari’s failure to convert its Friday advantage into pole position marked the beginning of the sequence of errors that ultimately left both cars outside the Hungarian GP podium places.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory hopes fade during opening stint
Lewis Hamilton recovered one position on the opening lap, but Ferrari’s race quickly moved away from the expected scenario. Charles Leclerc lost places to Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri surged from third on the grid into the lead.
Both Ferrari drivers then became detached from the McLarens. The Scuderia’s hopes of winning were already receding during the first stint, and its pace remained unremarkable after switching to the hard tyres.
Instead of chasing the lead, Lewis Hamilton became involved in a fight for the final podium position with Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s tyre choices played a major role in the outcome, with the team later acknowledging that a different Hungarian GP tyre strategy would have been preferable.
Lewis Hamilton’s remaining podium prospects ended when he received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The sanction also cost him fourth place to Charles Leclerc, leaving Ferrari with fourth and fifth in the final Hungarian Grand Prix classification.
Kimi Antonelli extends lead despite Mercedes mistakes
Ferrari collected 22 points from the race, which was considered a major disappointment given the team’s position after Friday practice. The Scuderia still outscored Mercedes by one point, as George Russell recovered only seventh place after stalling at the start.
Nevertheless, the drivers’ championship outcome favoured Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli finished two positions ahead of the penalised Lewis Hamilton and increased his advantage over the Ferrari driver to 50 points.
Toto Wolff remained dissatisfied with the number of mistakes that had occurred during the weekend, despite recognising the value of Mercedes’ championship result. The team had expected Hungary to favour Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, yet Kimi Antonelli still emerged with a larger lead.
The narrow one-point loss to Ferrari in the teams’ contest also left Mercedes in a strong overall position. Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur subsequently focused on the fact that the Scuderia had at least reduced Mercedes’ constructors’ championship advantage by one point, even though the opportunity for a much larger gain had been missed.
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