Hamilton and Leclerc keep Ferrari grounded despite dominant day

Ferrari laid down an emphatic marker on the opening day of the Hungarian Grand Prix, sweeping both Friday practice sessions and finishing comfortably clear of its rivals in FP2.

But despite the Scuderia's commanding display, Lewis Hamilton insists he’s still looking for improvements in several areas of the SF-26.

Hamilton capped Ferrari's impressive day by setting the fastest time in second practice, a 1m18.729s lap that left him 0.148s ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc after the Monegasque had topped the opening session earlier in the day.

The Italian outfit looked the class of the field around the Hungaroring, with nearly half a second separating the red cars from the rest of the pack in FP2. Yet neither Ferrari driver is expecting the advantage to remain that comfortable once qualifying begins.

Hamilton pleased, but not satisfied

Friday's running unfolded in difficult conditions, with gusting winds, a recently resurfaced circuit and low grip repeatedly catching drivers out.

Ferrari adapted better than most, but Hamilton believes there is still untapped performance to find before Saturday's all-important qualifying session.

"It was a solid day overall," the seven-time world champion said after FP2. "The conditions were quite challenging, with the wind making things a bit tricky and the track feeling quite bumpy in some places.

"The car felt better in FP2, and we made some good progress between the sessions, although there are still a few areas we need to improve.

"We'll go through all the data overnight, keep working on the balance and hopefully find a bit more performance for tomorrow."

Hamilton's comments underline Ferrari's measured approach despite enjoying its strongest Friday of the season. The Scuderia may have controlled the timesheets, but it is taking nothing for granted.

Leclerc expects rivals to close the gap

Leclerc echoed his team-mate's cautious optimism, predicting Ferrari's apparent advantage will shrink considerably once everyone reveals their true pace in qualifying.

"Our overall performance seems to be quite good, which is a positive," the Monegasque said.

"There is still a long way to go this weekend, so we have to be on it and work hard to make sure we stay on top tomorrow.

"It's going to be tight in qualifying. I don't expect us to see the same gap that we saw to our competitors today, so we will have to do a perfect job. If the feeling in the car is there, I'm sure we will have a good one."

That warning is unlikely to be ignored by the chasing pack.

Mercedes admitted it has work to do after an underwhelming Friday, while Red Bull also struggled to match Ferrari's pace over a single lap.

For now, Ferrari heads into Saturday with momentum firmly on its side. But if Hamilton and Leclerc are right, the comfortable margin displayed in practice could disappear when it matters most, leaving the Scuderia with no room for complacency.

Hungarian Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

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