Ferrari showed superior pace almost all weekend, only to stumble to a disappointing result in the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a weekend where they looked incredible early on, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton didn't even finish on the podium in Hungary. Instead, they settled for P4 and P5, respectively.
Gaining a total of 22 points is actually a decent result for the Prancing Horse. But relative to their superior performance in practice, this was not the result Ferrari wanted.
Even their team principal, Fred Vasseur, admitted that everything went wrong for Ferrari in the Hungaroring. But where exactly did it go wrong for them?
In a class of their own in FP1 and FP2
Leclerc finished Free Practice 1 nearly half a second clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. In Free Practice 2, it was Hamilton's turn to lead a Ferrari 1-2.
On their best times, it looked like Ferrari's high downforce setup was the answer to the Hungaroring's medium-speed corners. Mercedes driver George Russell went on to say that the Ferraris looked very strong.
However, they weren't the best on the long runs. With adjustments for different stints and tyres, Motorsport reported that Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes had the strongest long-run pace.
McLaren grabs the headlines on Saturday
Having suffered reliability issues early in the season, the McLarens knocked and opened the door on Saturday. Lando Norris topped Free Practice 3 and produced an incredible lap to get pole position in qualifying. Hamilton finished P2 and Leclerc P3.
And when Vasseur said that everything went wrong for Ferrari, Hamilton's last fast lap in Q3 was a sign of things to come.
The team sent out Hamilton first in the session, giving other drivers the advantage, with the track ramping up. After his fast lap, Hamilton was not informed that McLaren's Oscar Piastri was on a fast lap behind him, causing him to impede the Australian driver.
Hamilton was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Piastri.
Ferrari's Soft tyre gamble didn't pay off
Most of the frontrunners started on mediums, but Ferrari went for the Soft tyre gamble. They wanted to take advantage of the long run into Turn 1 and overtake the leading cars.
But Leclerc got off to a poor start and dropped to fifth after the opening lap. Hamilton improved to P4, but couldn't get the overtake done on Verstappen. With Hamilton stuck behind Verstappen, he was constantly in dirty air, which increased tyre degradation.
Hamilton gets a pit lane violation
After clawing his way into podium contention, Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his last pit stop under Virtual Safety Car conditions. He crossed the finish line P4, but was demoted to P5 after five seconds were added to his time.
Leclerc sensed something was wrong in his car
With the race entering its final stretch, Leclerc made a call on his radio, asking for further advice. He felt that something was wrong with his car.
The Monegasque driver inherited P4 from Hamilton's penalty, but it didn't feel that he had a real shot at a podium finish all race long. Before the race, Leclerc even admitted that he wasn't at Hamilton's level in Hungary.
Can the Ferraris do better after the summer break?
They should. Hamilton is 50 points behind the championship-leading Kimi Antonelli, and they don't want to waste this comeback opportunity. The Italian GP in Monza is coming up early in September, and they're expected to do well on their home track.
