Kimi Antonelli knows Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari will be ‘fearsome’ at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Kimi Antonelli is braced for an even stronger challenge from Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

For the second race in a row, Antonelli hunted down Charles Leclerc in pursuit of victory. But unlike at Silverstone, where a broken wheel shield derailed his charge, the Mercedes driver executed the race-winning pass at Spa.

Antonelli, who has won six out of 10 races but failed to score twice due to unreliability, is trying to take control of the championship. His lead over Lewis Hamilton stands at 45 points heading into the final round before the summer break.

Kimi Antonelli gives hope to Ferrari fans ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix

Ferrari surpassed their own expectations at Spa, as they had at Silverstone, given the power-sensitive nature of the circuit. They are known to be trailing Mercedes in terms of engine performance.

But the technical Hungaroring layout, which primarily features sweeping, medium-speed corners, should suit the SF-26 perfectly. There’s a school of thought that Ferrari are leading the way aerodynamically this year.

“A Ferrari like this is definitely a fearsome car for Hungary,” Antonelli told Sky Sports Italy. “They’ll be strong. Here at Spa, we had a configuration with less aerodynamic downforce, in Budapest we’ll go back to the previous configuration.

“Ferrari is strong, it won’t be easy, we’ll have to maximise every session and get a result.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also said Ferrari could beat Mercedes this weekend, picking them out as the likely benchmark.

Hamilton has won twice as many races in Budapest (eight) as the next-best driver (Michael Schumacher). It ranks as his second-best circuit of the year behind Silverstone, where he has nine wins.

Charles Leclerc calls for caution over Ferrari’s Budapest favourite tag

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Leclerc pointed out that Ferrari were also billed as the favourites for the Monaco GP in early June given the nature of the track.

But they were still two and a half tenths slower than pole man Antonelli in qualifying, and the Italian dominated the race too. Clearly, Mercedes shouldn’t be underestimated despite the overarching focus on their engine.

“I think it’s very difficult to predict the level of performance of every team,” Leclerc cautioned.

“I recall very well what the overall feeling was before Monaco, and we arrived in Monaco and were underperforming compared to what everybody thought we would. So, I think we need to be cautious.”