Charles Leclerc rips into the performance of his Ferrari at the 2025 Hungarian GP, slamming the SF-25 for its difficult behaviour despite securing pole position at the Hungaroring on August 2.
The 27-year-old snatched his first pole of the ongoing Formula 1 season and it came as a shock to everyone, including himself based on how the opening exchanges transpired for the Monegasque racer.
Free Practice 3 saw the star finish up 0.399 behind the McLaren pair and thus as a true outsider in what appeared as though it was poised to be an exclusive battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
And the first two portions of qualifying seemed as though it could be heading the same way as Ferrari struggled to get their diva car to behave around the high-speed but twisty circuit in central Europe.
In fact, he barely made it through to Q2 whilst Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver ever at the Hungaroring, found himself dumped out and forced to start Sunday’s race from 12th.
It seemed a handful to drive as both racers made multiple corrections on the steering wheel in a bid to get the rear of the car to behave. Any chance of competing for top spot seemed a genuine longshot.
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However, as the wind conditions changed in the final event of Saturday, Leclerc and his car suddenly came to life and he managed to land the first pole position of the season – although he didn’t let his Ferrari SF-25 off the hook as he rips into the performance at the 2025 Hungarian GP.
“Well, today is a day where I don’t understand anything anymore about sport,” Leclerc told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Honestly, qualifying felt horrible from the first lap to maybe the penultimate lap.
“Everything felt out of place. It really felt like we had done a step backwards from FP3 and in terms of competitiveness.
“Q1, I was on the limit. Barely made it to Q2, I was on the limit. I mean, I did quite a big mistake in in Turn 4, but, but still it wasn’t, it wasn’t easy to get to Q3.
“And then Q3, the conditions I think changed for everybody.
“I basically just did a clean lap, which was I think it was a really good lap because it’s those conditions were very difficult, I think to get everything right.
“And I did, but I was, I was really happy about the lap and it’s probably the biggest, the most surprising pole position I’ve ever done.
“I think after FP3 it wouldn’t have been so surprising, but after Q1 and Q2, I really thought we would struggle to get into the top 5. So, I’m very happy.”
Can Leclerc win the 2025 Hungarian GP for Ferrari after landing pole the Hungaroring?
Now eyes for the driver and his team switch ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix as he looks to bring home the team’s first victory of the season to give Fred Vasseur the perfect gift on the day that he sealed his Maranello future.
Despite their awesome pace and command at the summit of the constructors’ championship, it is possible to beat the McLarens. Max Verstappen and Red Bull did so in Japan and Imola, whilst George Russell also won at the Canadian GP for Mercedes.
And with the chance of ain in the air, does Leclerc think he can add his name to the list after he came agonisingly close to doing so at the Monaco GP – where he missed out on pole position by just over a tenth to Norris? He’s not sure.
“I don’t know,” Leclerc added. “I think there’s some rain around tomorrow, so if that is the case, then it’s obviously easier to overtake.
“But it’s always better to be starting first, so especially on this track, so I’m very happy with my starting position and now full focus on trying to keep it tomorrow.”
