The expectations were high in Maranello as the team headed off for what should have been a circuit that favoured the SF-26. After the energy-starved circuits of Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari was looking forward to the weekend in Budapest.
The tight, twisty track—one of the shortest on the F1 calendar—should’ve lent itself well to the characteristics of the SF-26, which has lots of traction in low-speed corners.
Promising Pace in Practice and Q1
The mood was bright in the camp of the Scuderia after Friday practice, with Charles Leclerc topping the first session and Hamilton the second. While Lando Norris was quickest on Saturday morning, the gap to Hamilton was just 0.1 seconds, and so Ferrari headed into qualifying with high expectations.
Such was the pace of their car, Ferrari sent both their drivers out in Q1 on medium tyres with a view to starting the race on Sunday on a new set of soft compounds. Hamilton delivered his lap on the yellow-walled tyre and easily made it into Q2.
Leclerc’s Track Limits Blunder in Q2
Leclerc, by contrast, despite setting a time good enough to see him through, abused track limits and saw his time deleted. Mistake 1. The Monegasque driver then had to use his spare soft tyre to ensure he was fighting in the second qualifying session.
McLaren had brought a number of upgrades to the Hungarian Grand Prix, and come Q2, Norris proved they were working well. The new underfloor—designed to improve airflow extraction around the diffuser—meant the car was better balanced, and Norris put this to good use, finishing 0.2 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Q3 Setup Fiasco & Piastri Impeding Penalty
For the pole position shootout, Lewis Hamilton laid down a marker with the quickest lap of the day on a 1:17.219, with Lando Norris a further two-tenths back. Hamilton is an expert at this circuit, having nine poles and eight race wins in the bowl that is the Hungaroring.
Yet Ferrari decided for the final run to meddle with their tyre pressures, as a TJ13 source has revealed. The results were horrific, as Hamilton was almost a second down on his first-run time. A spin from Max Verstappen put paid to either Mercedes being able to deliver the time required for pole position, but the McLarens, who had been delayed leaving the pits, were yet to start their final flying laps.
As Hamilton crossed the line, the head-scratching began on why he was so slow compared to his previous run. Yet he failed to heed the warning from his engineer that “Piastri is pushing…”, which meant ‘a car on a qualifying run is approaching you — move off the racing line’.
Lewis couldn’t have impeded the McLaren driver more if he had tried on purpose. With the Ferrari parked on the apex of Turn 1, there was nowhere for the Australian to go. Hamilton would receive a mere three-place grid drop, which could have been much worse had the stewards been so inclined.
Norris Snatches Pole at the Death
Meanwhile, Lando Norris was pumping in the lap times, well up on Hamilton’s Q1 benchmark come the end of sector two. Yet the tricky final corner, with its surface break-up issues, meant the world champion lost most of his advantage and crossed the line a mere 0.012 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.
Mistakes 2 & 3 were Ferrari fiddling with tyre pressure and Hamilton dozing off when his final disappointing push run was complete. Come race day, hopes remained high among the Scuderia engineers that their car had the inherent race pace to match that of the McLarens and Mercedes.
Bottled Starts and Strategy Blunders
Yet Leclerc, starting in P2, blew it at lights out and was swamped by Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, relegating him instantly to P4. Neither Ferrari was ever within a shot of winning the Grand Prix as Lando Norris, finally released from following his teammate, stormed off into the distance.
A podium was still possible for Lewis Hamilton, but between him, the engineers, and the strategists, they all blew it once again. As the race entered its final quarter, Hamilton was in P2, but being hunted by Verstappen on fresher soft tyres.
VSC Chaos & Pit Lane Speeding Penalty
Then came a Virtual Safety Car. Red Bull chose to retain track position over the option for a cheap pit stop and fresher rubber, while Ferrari pitted both their drivers for used soft tyres for the final push to the chequered flag. Kimi Antonelli, who had run an alternate strategy running long on his first two stints, had just stopped for tyres before the VSC but had plenty of rubber left.
As Hamilton was emerging from the pits, it was neck and neck between him and Antonelli coming down the start/finish straight. Due to pit lane speed regulations being faster than the VSC requirement, Hamilton momentarily appeared to overtake Antonelli as they approached the safety car line.
He returned to the circuit in front of the Mercedes, but was instructed quickly to give the place back. Clearly, Ferrari believed he was behind Antonelli at the all-important line, which marked the end of the pit lane.
Hamilton battled for lap after lap in an effort to overcome the young Italian driver, all to no avail. Then he was hit with a five-second time penalty — for speeding in the pit lane. Mistake 4.
Vasseur Sums Up a Disastrous Sunday
As the chequered flag was shown, Hamilton crossed the line ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc in P4, but with the five-second time penalty applied, this reversed the order of the Ferrari drivers.
After the race, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur bemoaned the lack of opportunity for the team to see the real pace of the SF-26, given it never ran in clean air.
“It’s difficult to clearly understand the pace,” said Vasseur to Sky F1, adding that “a different race” was on the cards had Leclerc remained in P2 at the start.
“It’s not a good Sunday, because when you are 1-2 on Friday, you expect much more than P4-P5,” Fred added. “And on top of that, we made too many mistakes, starting with the start, with the [pitlane speeding] penalty, with the fact that Max [Verstappen] overtook us on track, that each time that we were doing a pitstop we are losing a position for 0.2 or 0.3 seconds.”
Pretty much everything that could go wrong did for Ferrari in Hungary, but the mistakes were plain for all to see — from the drivers to the pit stop crew and the strategists on the pit wall.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris won his first Grand Prix as world champion, and McLaren looks mighty going forward and more than capable of taking the fight for the titles to Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
