Drama in Hungary – Leclerc stuns Hamilton with pole position magic, but his cryptic smile raised questions: What are they hiding? Was it really just racing? Details that change everything — keep reading.
The mood of the two Ferrari drivers at the Hungarian Grand Prix could not have been any different after qualifying on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc secured his 27th Formula 1 pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
He was a mixture of delighted and stunned by the time he got out of his Ferrari, somehow finding a way to topple the previously unbeatable McLarens.
Karun Chandhok couldn’t believe Leclerc beat both McLaren drivers, especially considering Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had led every session up to that point.
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Lewis Hamilton was devastated.
The margins were excruciatingly thin, with Hamilton missing out on a place in Q3 by a few milliseconds.
If fans wanted an idea of just how competitive this season is, then the fact that Q3 was the closest qualifying session in F1 history tells you everything you need to know.
Hamilton was disconsolate in the media pen afterwards, making the incredible claim that Ferrari should replace him based on his performance.
Team principal Fred Vasseur has disagreed with Hamilton on the cause of his early exit from qualifying
The seven-time world champion found it difficult to come to terms with the result of the session, but did make time to say something about Leclerc that the Monegasque driver will love.
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton praises Charles Leclerc after ‘amazing’ Hungarian Grand Prix pole position
Speaking to the written press, via The Race, Hamilton said about Leclerc’s pole lap: “It’s amazing for the team.
“Clearly, the car is capable of being on pole. So big congrats to Charles and to the team.”
Vasseur then explained to the media: “It’s better to start from pole in Budapest than P11 [P12], and it will be difficult, but you cannot compare P1 and P11, you need to compare one tenth in Q2.
“This is more of an issue because Charles was not far away to be out in Q2, and you need to keep this in mind in your analysis of the day.
“But it is what it is. We have to do a better job to not be exposed in Q1 and Q2, and the fact that we had to use extra sets in Q1 was not a good start to the session, and then you have one set for Q2.”
Charles Leclerc ‘surprised’ by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari this season
Leclerc has the upper hand on Hamilton both in qualifying and race results this season.
Hamilton is still waiting for his first podium finish in a Grand Prix, while his Monegasque teammate has four top-three finishes in the last six races.
Leclerc has been surprised by Hamilton since his arrival from Mercedes, and the pair do appear to be pushing each other very hard.
After the seven-time world champion’s strong performance last month at Silverstone, Leclerc declared that Hamilton was Ferrari’s only positive.
Not only does this show that Hamilton is nowhere near needing to consider whether he should be replaced, but that his teammate does still have his back when things get tough.
Ferrari appear to have taken a step forward with their update package, but Hamilton hasn’t been able to capitalise on those upgrades yet.
Leclerc definitely has, and that could lead to Ferrari’s first victory of the season if things go his way on Sunday.
