The qualifying session in the Hungarian Grand Prix was a masterclass performed by Charles Leclerc, who was able to snatch the pole position in the very last movement, as the ever-so-close McLaren lost the position to the resurgent T-worlds team member. Consecutive fourth-place finishes on his home circuit in China last weekend hinted at a breakthrough and in an event where everyone was counting their thousandths of seconds, the Ferrari driver got it just right. Leclerc was having an unusual session of strategic brinkmanship and technical progress, which was a welcome reminder of his uncooked pace and doggedness in high pressure.
With McLaren making threatening presence particularly after their heavy presence in the past rounds it felt at some point that McLaren cars were to be the vegetables once again. The cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had been competitive in practice and the initial part of qualifying, and the lightest and tight and twisty Hungaroring had suited the upgraded MCL38s. Come Q3 though, Leclerc did a near-perfect lap that took pole by the minutest of margins, a margin that was enough to dishearten his nearest competitors.
This calculated aggression resulted in a pole time of 1m15.906s which was set during the final flying lap by Leclerc. Ferrari showed up in Hungary with upgrades- nothing extreme, but small changes that were meant to balance the cars and make them have more grip at the back end. The kind of stability that Leclerc has not experienced in the last few races has been unlocked by these changes to him, as he excels on confidence when he enters the corner. He started off it in the first sector and never lost the pace throughout the lap going through all lengths of the track and not getting beyond the boundaries.
The two Mercedes teams and Red Bull, unusually quiet, were further down the grid. George Russell got the better half of Mercedes by outpacing Lewis Hamilton, as well as Max Verstappen who could not seem to connect with his RB20 today. After showing an habitual tendency of coming out on top in qualifying, the fact that Verstappen could not maximize performance seemed to raise eyebrows. Whilst it continued to remain at the top five, there was certain disintegration in the Red Bull garage- a thing that is so abnormal with the reigning world champions.
Leclerc started the race on pole position but this did not imply that he had won yet. The Hungaroring is infamous in terms of the strategy difficulty – increased tire wear, the lack of overtaking possibilities, and the fair presence of safety cars have a potential to change the race. Nonetheless, this form of morale boost is especially important to Ferrari and a welcome change of pace in cognitive progression towards the season. The Scuderia might still be able to contribute to the championship discussion on more technical tracks that may not be very loose.
The race on Sunday is going to be a tight and strategic race. Leclerc led a very compact leading pack and McLaren was already closely trailing Ferrari in the first several rounds of the race. In the present, however, Leclerc has made a statement one lap speed-wise, when everything goes his way.
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