Ferrari ended Friday as the benchmark in qualifying and race simulations for the Formula 1 Hungarian GP. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc put the Italian team at an advantage at the Hungaroring, but the numbers indicate a direct threat from Mercedes in race pace.
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In the projection for qualifying, Red Bull appeared as the closest rival, 0s33 behind Ferrari, followed by Mercedes, at 0s43, and McLaren, at 0s70. The strength of the Italian car was mainly in slow corners, where it opened up more than six tenths over Mercedes and approximately 0s25 to McLaren, although it lost ground to Red Bull in medium-speed sections.
Fred Vasseur avoided treating the performance as a guarantee of pole position or victory. “So far, so good, but it’s not on Friday that you achieve pole, much less win the race. It’s good to start the weekend like this, but tomorrow will be another story,” said the Ferrari boss. Leclerc also highlighted that rivals usually make progress between Friday and Saturday, although he considered the team’s competitive start positive.
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The situation changes in race simulations. Mercedes was only 0s07 per lap behind Ferrari, while Red Bull and McLaren emerged with deficits of 0s48 and 0s53, respectively. The German team had difficulties showing its potential in a fast lap, with Kimi Antonelli hampered by a red flag and brake lock-up, but showed stronger pace in sequences with a higher fuel load.
Aston Martin also showed evolution with its extensive update package, despite still appearing distant, at 2s31 in qualifying and 2s38 in race pace. Fernando Alonso stated that the car is “more glued to the ground, predictable and easy to control,” but acknowledged that there is still a lot of performance to be found.
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