Although Ferrari did not convert the leadership at the Hungarian Grand Prix 2025 in a win, team boss Frederic Vasseur “definitely recognizes many positive aspects” in the appearance of his Formula 1 team-even if the final result is expressly “not satisfactory”.
“In Spa we were only two tenths of a second in the race. In Budapest we had the pole position and were in front in the race for 40 rounds. We can take a lot of positive things with us,” says Vasseur.
Technically, Ferrari has increased: Vasseur evaluates the new rear wheel suspension as “good” and says: “Now the performance is back.”
Why Ferrari had to react to Piatri
This was particularly evident in the Hungaroring in the first stint: Charles Leclerc led in Ferrari and did not come under pressure. “We were able to easily expand the lead. This part of the race was really good for us,” explains Vasseur.
“We had everything under control and not the feeling of having to push too much. We could even extend the stint without the tires lost in constancy.”
The disappointment with Ferrari is all the greater about not winning. “If you lead at first and then have to go to the box in round, because the tires are at the end, then you can say: ‘Okay, I pushed too much.’ But that wasn’t the case here, “says Vasseur.
“We only came in to prevent Oscar Piatri from undercut. We could have been able to drive a few laps at the same pace. That is frustrating.”
Ferrari has no strategic scope
Vasseur sees the main reason for the defeat in Hungary, however, not in the superior McLaren strategy, but at Ferrari himself: “We have to understand why we have lost pace in the race, but we must not draw any final conclusions from this last stint.”
Because Lando Norris had chosen his victorious strategy “out of necessity because he was four or five seconds behind Piatri,” explains Vasseur. “In this situation, it was a good decision for McLaren not to put both cars on the same strategy, but to try something else.”
Ferrari did not have this luxury: Leclerc teammate Lewis Hamilton finished twelve to twelve in the other in the other Ferrari and therefore played no role in awarding points in the Grand Prix. Ferrari had to react to Piatri with Leclerc.
But McLaren is warned after the appearance of Leclerc in Spa and Budapest: Team boss Andrea Stella is one of the winners in the remaining seasonal races.