The Monegasque driver, battling for victory at the Hungaroring to try and keep his title hopes alive, was unable to take full advantage of rival Max Verstappen’s engine problems as he finished third on the grid.
Reflecting on an afternoon where being able to turn the tires on for a lap proved key to the pace at the front, Leclerc said things had not been easy for him.
“Today was not a great day,” he said. “I struggled a lot with the tires and just had a lot of inconsistency to put the tires in the right window in those conditions.
“I struggled to get a lap together, but we’ll look at it. I’m pretty sure we have the speed in the car to go back some more [towards] from the front tomorrow.
“So we’re going to focus on that. And we hope to have a better Sunday.”
Ferrari’s long-term pace on Friday was impressive in the hotter conditions and that form has left Leclerc a little more optimistic about how things will play out if the team can find answers to what went wrong today.
“The pace is there,” he said. “So we just have to find out what happened with the tires today. And I’m pretty sure we can come back tomorrow.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A522, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz, who was beaten by Russell at the very end, blamed several moments of overturning in the final sector for the loss of first place.
“I felt I had the speed to take pole position,” said the Spaniard.
“We got away there in the last sector by a couple of clicks through the lap. But kudos to George because he must have had a pretty good lap there at the end. And yes, we will be racing from P2 tomorrow.”
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Sainz shared Leclerc’s optimism that Ferrari can turn things around and push on to claim victory on Sunday.
“I think we have the pace,” he added. “Obviously the start and tire management will play a key role as always.
“Mercedes’ pace is a bit unknown and we will have to see how the race goes tomorrow.” And if we can get them at the start then it’s better, but I think it will be an exciting race.”
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