BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — One Ferrari soared on the wind. One didn’t.
Charles Leclerc snatched a surprise first pole position of the year for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, as the windy conditions blew away title-chasing McLaren’s pole position chances.
But Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton called himself “absolutely useless” after he could only manage 12th.
The wind changes
Leclerc had consistently been the best of the rest behind the McLarens in practice but remained well off the pace of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
That changed in qualifying, with the help of gloomy, gusty conditions. Alterations in wind direction in particular worked against the McLarens as the session went on.
Norris and Piastri were each about half-a-second slower per lap in the final part of qualifying, compared to the second segment. Piastri called the conditions “bizarre and somewhat frustrating.”
Still, pole came as a shock for Leclerc at a circuit which he called on Thursday “by far the worst track of the season for me”.
“What?” Leclerc exclaimed over the radio when he was told he’d qualified first.
“Honestly, I have no words. It’s probably one of the best pole positions I’ve ever had because it’s the most unexpected,” Leclerc added later.
Defending the lead
Pole position is usually a big advantage in Hungary, where overtaking is difficult, but Norris noted the chance that rain could spring more surprises in Sunday’s race.
“I have no idea how it will go, but one thing for sure is that I will do absolutely everything in order to keep that first place,” said Leclerc.
He’s on pole for the 27th time in F1 but has only converted five of those starts into wins. He’ll be seeking his ninth F1 victory in total Sunday.
Hungary is a slow, dusty track sometimes likened to Leclerc’s home of Monaco for the difficulty of overtaking.
Asked if there were any places to overtake except for the first corner, Piastri said: “The pit lane. That’s probably it.”
Hamilton suggests a driver change
It was a stark contrast on the other side of the Ferrari garage as Hamilton ‘s long-running frustrations seemed to reach a tipping point.
He referred to himself as “useless, absolutely useless” in comments to British broadcaster Sky Sports and suggested Ferrari might need to consider a change of driver.
Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix a record eight times but qualified 12th as the seven-time champion’s troubles in his first season with Ferrari continued.
That came after Ferrari’s executive chairman John Elkann called it “a rough season” in comments Saturday on the F1 website, and defended Ferrari’s trust in team principal Fred Vasseur, whose contract extension was announced Thursday.
Ferrari hasn’t won a Grand Prix since Carlos Sainz Jr.’s victory in Mexico in October, when the Spanish driver — now at Williams — also had the Italian team’s last pole.
Defending champion Max Verstappen was only eighth after struggling with the balance of his Red Bull, and teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 16th. That piles more pressure on the Japanese driver, who hasn’t scored a point in six races.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
