Leclerc laments Ferrari inconsistency after frustrating Hungarian GP: 'It's just strange'

Lining up on the front row just behind eventual winner Lando Norris at the Hungaroring as a consequence of teammate Lewis Hamilton's three-place grid penalty post-Qualifying, Leclerc suffered a poor launch in Budapest, dropping to P5 and only ultimately recovering to fourth after another penalty for Hamilton.

Given the Hungaroring's emphasis on twisty, tight corners and limited straights, many anticipated Ferrari would have a stronger weekend in the capital, and things had been looking good after Leclerc and Hamilton topped Friday's Free Practice sessions. Even if he started behind Norris come Sunday, hopes were still high Leclerc could score his second win of the season, after an unexpected victory at the British GP.

But it was not to be for either Leclerc or Hamilton, with the former left somewhat baffled by Ferrari's inconsistency from one track to another. Speaking to media, including GPblog, Leclerc was asked if he was at all happy with P4 in Hungary.

"No, definitely not," the 28-year-old replied. "It's a disappointing weekend, and I think the thing that is standing out for me after the last three races is that out of the last three races, there were two races where we were expecting to struggle and we finished first and second. And in the race where we expected to do well, we finished fourth and fifth. So there's clearly a tendency, and it's not that one car is doing well because he's [Lewis Hamilton] doing exceptionally in the car.

Asked on how much of Ferrari's disappointing Sunday was down to race execution, Leclerc again focused on a poor start that saw him drop from P2 to P5, at a track where overtaking opportunities are not exactly rich. He nonetheless noted that the Scuderia were not "stellar" at any stage during the race, and that it is "strange" how up and down Ferrari's season has been so far.

"I mean, the start again, we paid the price a lot today with the start, Leclerc replied. "However, we weren't particularly stellar at any point of the race. I mean, the first stint on hards wasn't bad, the last stint on softs was pretty good, but then there were too many ups and downs.