BUDAPEST — Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was quick to talk down his team’s hopes after his drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were first and second in the practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Frenchman warned of tyre problems, lack of data acquisition and too many interruptions during a scrappy session. He predicted all Ferrari’s rivals would go faster.
It was also clear that Vasseur was satisfied with a strong team performance led by an untouchable lap from Hamilton who is seeking to become the first driver in F1 history to take 10 poles at the same circuit.
“So far, so good,” admitted Vasseur according to AFP. “It is a good start, but let’s see when it can be a different story. Everyone will improve.”
He added that it had been difficult for Ferrari to gain understanding of their tyres’ performance because red flags, especially in the second free practice, prevented them doing a “proper long run stint”.
Seven-time champion Hamilton set the pace with a best lap in one minute and 18.729 seconds to beat Leclerc by 0.148 seconds, leaving world champion Lando Norris, last year’s winner, third for McLaren, but adrift by half a second.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fourth and George Russell fifth for Mercedes, but championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who missed FP1 when Mercedes gave his car to test driver Fred Vesti, struggled to 13th.
Verstappen said his car still lacks dependability.
“It was a difficult day,” he said. “Difficult to find a good balance in the car. We need to make the car more consistent on a lap and make it work on the long runs as well.”
