Scuderia Ferrari is looking forward to going on the attack at the Hungaroring in the Hungarian Grand Prix, when it starts tomorrow at 15 CEST. Carlos Sainz will start from second on the grid and Charles Leclerc from third and they will aim to immediately put George Russell under pressure, after the Englishman beat Carlos to pole by 44 thousandths of a second, lapping two tenths quicker than Charles.
Q3. Carlos and Charles both had two new sets of Soft tyres for the final shoot-out and posted times good enough for first and second place respectively. However, Russell was last across the line, securing pole position in 1’17”377.
Study night. An evening of data analysis and assessment now follows for the drivers and engineers, to prepare for the race. The team will be looking to confirm Friday’s strong pace in order to get the possible result tomorrow when air and track temperatures are expected to be higher and the track will be more rubbered-in. At 70 laps, this is a long race, but the Scuderia has both its cars at the front end of the grid while its closest title rivals will line up in the middle of the grid.
Carlos Sainz #55
"I’m not very happy with the final result as I feel I could have done a better lap on the final attempt. However, I prefer to focus on the positives: we are in a good position for tomorrow, I’ve been comfortable in the car all weekend and we keep making steps in the right direction. I’m confident we can carry the good pace of Friday into the race, so we’ll definitely go for it. Congrats to George on his first pole. He did a very good lap today and I look forward to the battle tomorrow."
Charles Leclerc #16
"It wasn't a great session. The tyres were very tricky in these conditions and I struggled to get them in the right window, especially in Q3. The pace is there and we know we have some work to do. I'm confident we can come back stronger tomorrow. Congratulations to George for his first pole position, it's a special one!"
Laurent Mekies, Sporting Director
"It was an unusual qualifying, because after this morning’s rain, we found ourselves with a track that was no longer rubbered-in and the temperatures were much lower than yesterday’s, so it was a case of starting over again. Carlos and Charles progressed well through the three phases and, as we expected, in the end it was a fight to the nearest thousandths of a second. We thought we’d be up against Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but in the end it was George Russell who took pole position, beating Carlos by a whisker. Congratulations to him and his team. Overall, we can be pleased with how we performed today, as we got a good team result, which puts us in a position from which we can aim to bring home the best possible result tomorrow. Here at the track and back in Maranello, we will now analyse all the data, as conditions for tomorrow’s Grand Prix should be similar and we’re not yet completely satisfied with where we are right now. I expect it will be a thrilling fight between three teams tomorrow and we want to be in the thick of it."