Ferrari failed to secure a podium finish at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth. Lando Norris secured victory for McLaren, with Max Verstappen taking second for Red Bull Racing, and Kimi Antonelli completing the podium for Mercedes.
The Maranello squad’s weekend began with a significant setback during qualifying. Lewis Hamilton received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri, dropping him from an initial second position to fifth on the grid.
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, acknowledged the frustration of losing pole by a narrow margin and then incurring the penalty. Track position at the Hungaroring is critical, making this penalty a substantial handicap.
Ferrari opted to start the race on soft tyres for both drivers; Hamilton on new softs and Charles Leclerc on a three-lap old set. This strategy yielded no immediate gains, with Leclerc losing three positions and Hamilton only managing to overtake Leclerc.
Hamilton found himself behind Verstappen, prompting Ferrari to initiate an early undercut. While Hamilton gained position, Ferrari’s execution was not optimal, as delaying the pit stop by one lap could have reduced the risk of Hamilton rejoining behind Isack Hadjar.
Hadjar, driving for Red Bull Racing in 2026, predictably defended aggressively, costing Hamilton crucial time. Verstappen quickly negated the undercut, executing an overtake at Turn 1 just one lap later.
Hamilton reportedly did not anticipate the move, leading to a lost opportunity to challenge Norris. His car also struggled on the hard tyres, exhibiting an unstable rear end that severely impacted his lap times.
This prompted Ferrari to call Hamilton in for a second pit stop after only 17 laps on the hard compound. Incredibly, he once again emerged behind Hadjar, losing further time battling past him.
Red Bull Racing chose not to react to Ferrari’s second stop, keeping Max Verstappen out on track. Verstappen, who started on mediums, then switched to hards, eventually moved to soft tyres on lap 42, a strategic masterstroke that secured his second place.
Fred Vasseur admitted that ‘everything went wrong’ for Ferrari, stating the team made ‘too many mistakes and a lot of wrong choices.’ He also acknowledged that the soft tyres lasted twice as long as anticipated.
Oscar Piastri’s retirement on lap 56 due to a gearbox issue, while running second, triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Ferrari then opted for a controversial double stack, causing Hamilton to lose track position for a final time.
Hamilton later stated he ‘definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop’ under the VSC, believing a podium finish was possible if he had stayed out. Telemetry data indicated Verstappen would have struggled to pass Hamilton on 26-lap-old softs.
To compound Ferrari’s issues, Hamilton received a five-second time penalty for pit lane speeding, which ultimately dropped him to fifth position behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Despite high expectations and strong Friday pace, Ferrari’s performance at the Hungaroring was disappointing. The team faces considerable work to consistently challenge for podiums in the latter half of the 2026 season, despite earlier victories this season in Spain and Silverstone.
