Charles Leclerc has played down his chances of a good result at this weekend’s Hungarian GP, with a startling admission.
Coming into the Hungarian GP weekend, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari look to be a strong position. Finishing third at last weekend’s Belgian GP, the Monegasque kept World Champion Max Verstappen at bay to finish on the podium.
Ahead of the race weekend, Ferrari announced it has extended Fred Vasseur’s contract as Team Principal, bringing further stability to Maranello.
Speaking in Thursday’s FIA press conference, Leclerc admitted his delight at his former mentor continuing in role.
“I’m really, really happy,” he admitted. “It’s not that it’s coming as a surprise, but I’m really happy. Especially in the past month, there were quite a few rumours, like it’s always the case around the team. To finally have the official news out is important and I’m really happy.
Charles Leclerc also praised the Vasseur’s plan and vision for Ferrari, highighting his qualities as a manager.
“Without going into comparing the different eras, Fred has an incredible vision. What’s very difficult within Ferrari is the emotion is very much part of the daily job because Italian people in general, and that’s what makes Ferrari so special, are extremely passionate about Ferrari.
“Fred really knows how to leave his emotions aside and have a clear vision of where we are at no matter how much noise there is around the team. This is very, very important. Apart from that, he’s got many more qualities. One of them is also to extract the maximum out of every single person at the factory and this, when you put everything together, it makes a big difference.
A break in momentum for Charles Leclerc at the Hungarian GP?
When asked if he believes he has a car that can now regularly challenge for podiums, Charles Leclerc bluntly summarised his expectations for Hungary.
“The result will say so. We’ve had four podiums in the last six race weekends. I don’t think yet that we are at the level where we can say that we are the second strongest team on the grid. But we are working towards that and making steps in the right direction.
“There have been quite a few upgrades in the last few weekends which helped us to close the gap to the guys in front.
“However, this weekend, I’m not sure. It’s by far the worst track of the season for me. I’m looking forward to trying to prove that wrong and to have finally a good weekend here in Budapest.”
Clarifying his comments, Leclerc said a historic record of poor performance hinders him at the notoriously tight circuit.
“I don’t know. I wish I knew. It’s just not been very successful for me in the past. It’s probably something with my driving style. I’ve got to work a little bit harder compared to other tracks, but that’s fine.
“Maybe it’s the walls that are missing. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but I’m still confident we can have a great weekend and we’ll see how it goes.
