Ferrari left Budapest with a pole, a lead, and a headache. Charles Leclerc controlled the first half of the Hungarian Grand Prix, then watched it slip away after his final stop as pace vanished and the McLarens – plus George Russell’s Mercedes – sailed past. From the cockpit, it felt like a window slam shut.
Leclerc didn’t sugar-coat what that meant for the rest of 2025. Asked if Ferrari can win before Abu Dhabi, he went blunt. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so,” he said. “McLaren are the strongest team out there… I don’t think we are going into the second half of the season thinking that we can win anywhere.” Hungary, with track position king, had been the shot.
It’s been that kind of year. McLaren’s MCL39 has defined the championship, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri taking all but three of the first 14 Grands Prix. Ferrari, alone among the top four without a victory, finally looked sharper across Spa and Budapest: Leclerc held off Max Verstappen’s Red Bull to finish third at Spa, then stuck it on pole at the Hungaroring and led convincingly until that mystery fade.
What happened? The team hasn’t detailed it. Fred Vasseur hinted at a chassis-related issue; paddock chatter – and a pointed suggestion from Russell – circled around a late-stint change that effectively raised the car, possibly via tyre pressures. The stopwatch told the story: Leclerc suddenly lapping roughly two seconds slower, his race unravelling to P4.
Vasseur, typically pragmatic, pushed back on the gloom. “I don’t have the crystal ball,” he said, “but if you have a look at Spa, we were back, we were two-tenths off in the race. This weekend, we did the pole position, and we were able to stay in front for 40 laps.” The team boss sees a car that’s been meaningfully upgraded and a picture that’s better than the final stint suggested. “We can also see a lot of positives… that the performance is back. We don’t have to draw a conclusion on the last stint.”
Andrea Stella agrees Ferrari are in the fight, at least on the right weekend. “I think Ferrari is going to be a contender for victories for the remainder of the season,” McLaren’s team principal said. “Any time we race in the second part of the season… we will have to deal with Ferrari.”
Vasseur knows how the odds swing. McLaren are there every weekend; Ferrari aren’t, not yet. “If we want to win, we need to be very consistent in every single condition,” he said. That means clean Fridays, nailed qualifying through Q1 to Q3, and race execution on every compound.
Budapest showed the door is ajar. Now Ferrari have to stop letting it slam on their fingers.
