Charles Leclerc urges caution over Ferrari's Hungarian GP hopes

Off the back of his first win at Silverstone and a P2 finish last time out at Spa-Francorchamps - both tracks at which Ferrari were predicted to struggle given their energy-deprieved nature - many believe their SF-26 could be strong in Budapest, as the Hungaroring is more energy-rich, and rewards cars that excel in the corners.

There is certainly hope surrounding Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton boasting eight wins at the Hungarian GP, second only to his Silverstone record (9) for the most wins achieved at a single F1 circuit.

Leclerc, however, has tempered expectations on Ferrari for this weekend, harkening back to the Monaco GP weekend, where hopes were high for the Scuderia before Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli beat Hamilton to the win, while Leclerc suffered a heartbreak DNF at his home race.

Speaking after his P2 finish at Spa, when asked whether Ferrari could be strong in Budapest, Leclerc responded: "We could be, but we could also not be, and we’ll never know until we go there.

Leclerc's Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has similarly poured cold water on the idea that the Italian team come into the Hungarian GP weekend as clear favourites, also drawing attention to rivals' upgrades.

Vasseur told GPblog and others: "I think everybody will bring upgrades and we don't know the picture of the performance. Everybody is pushing.