Charles Leclerc’s surprising pole position in Hungary was his 27th. Yet, he struggled in qualifying in 2025 for the Ferrari driver. However, a significant update last week in Belgium reportedly restored his strength, according to the Monegasque driver.
Leclerc last started on pole at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, almost a year ago. Normally, qualifying is one of his strengths, but this season’s struggling Ferrari made it very difficult for him.
“I really had to adjust the car quite extremely for a long time to get some speed out of it,” Leclerc said on Saturday at the Hungaroring, where he beat the favored McLaren drivers in qualifying. “That made everything very unpredictable, especially if you wanted to squeeze those last few tenths out in Q3. If you did anything wrong, you immediately paid the price for it.”
Ferrari went to work on the car. In Austria, there was already a new floor, and in Belgium last weekend, the long-awaited adjustment to the rear suspension followed. As a result, the Ferrari has much more flexibility in ride height without having to worry about the floor wearing down too much.
Leclerc already finished third in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps and held off Max Verstappen for the entire race the next day. “I didn’t want to judge the updates too early after Belgium; you normally only do that after you’ve driven on different circuits. But the car is already much more predictable, so it’s easier to drive to the limit. And that’s good. Qualifying has always been my strength. And that strength is now back.”
Yet Leclerc assumed the third place was the maximum achievable, especially after things didn’t go well in qualifying. “Everything felt wrong; I really thought we had taken a step back after the free practice sessions. I barely made it to Q2, and getting to Q3 wasn’t very easy either. Then the conditions changed.”
While the track was already cooling down significantly during qualifying, the wind direction also completely changed above the Hungaroring just before Q3. “You really have to reset then. Everything is different, including how you take the corners,” Leclerc explained.
“I actually put everything on simply a lap without problems, a clean lap. With that, I thought the third place was within reach. But it became my most surprising pole ever, especially when you look at how it went in this qualifying session. Sometimes I don’t understand anything about Formula 1 anymore,” he laughed. “But I’m very happy.”
Leclerc paused to acknowledge the hard work at the factory in Maranello to get the crucial new parts on the car as quickly as possible. “They really worked like crazy. This pole gives the whole team a boost.”
Precisely on a circuit where things never go well for the Ferrari driver, he has his best chance in 2025 to win for once on Sunday. Although there is also realism, McLaren is generally relatively even stronger on Sundays. At the same time, the Hungaroring is pre-eminently a track to make yourself wide as a leader.
“That’s why the start and the first corner are crucial,” Leclerc looked ahead. “Although it might rain on Sunday, then overtaking will be a bit easier again. In any case, it’s always best to start at the front.”