The good news for all Ferrari fans: Charles Leclerc finished Friday’s practice session in Hungary in first place. The less good news: This best time after rain in FT1 and little driving in FT2 should not have much significance.
“It’s very difficult to read anything from today’s training,” admits Leclerc himself in the evening and refers to the tire rule this weekend. In Hungary, the drivers only have eleven sets of tires instead of the usual 13.
This meant that, for example, the Red Bull drivers only drove a few laps in the second practice session. “I think they only used one sentence in FT2. We still expect that they will be the strongest team,” Leclerc clarifies.
“Everyone is trying different things,” he says of the new format, explaining that he “expected” it that way. “But it’s nice because I don’t think we all really know where we are when we go into qualifying,” said Leclerc.
“And I’m sure it will be exciting. But the feeling was pretty good,” emphasizes Monegasque, who, despite the circumstances, rated the result on Friday as “positive” and explained: “We just have to concentrate on ourselves.”
“We know where we need to improve the car. There were a few corners where I didn’t have that much confidence,” he reports, but emphasizes that he is still optimistic. Things didn’t go so well for team-mate Carlos Sainz with tenth place in the timesheets.
The Spaniard even landed in the wall once in the first practice session. He reports: “I didn’t find the limit, I just had aquaplaning and a spin.” Apart from that, it was “a very strange day” for him with the new format.
You drove fewer laps than on a normal Friday because it rained in FT1 and in FT2 it was mainly about saving tires. The Spaniard expects Saturday to be close and it will be “a tough weekend for everyone”.
Incidentally, Hungary has not been the best place for Ferrari in recent years. Scuderia’s last win was at the Hungaroring in 2017, and there has only been one podium finish in the past three editions since 2020.
Sainz finished third in 2021, Leclerc has never been on the podium in Hungary.