Leclerc: Going for the win in Budapest might be a bit optimistic

Leclerc was a surprise contender at Silverstone following the early crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and was ahead for much of the race.

The Monegasque racer was cruelly denied with just a few laps to go, but earned his best result of the season in P2 in the process.

Looking ahead to the Hungaroring though, the Ferrari man is being "realistic" about their chances.

"It’s good to be optimistic, I think we all want to be optimists after such a good performance in the last three races,” said Leclerc. “On the other hand, we also need to be realistic.

“It’s good and we are in a good mood but I feel like going for the win in Budapest might be a bit optimistic.”

“Realistically, I think I would be happy if we are just behind the two top teams," he added.

While Leclerc finished second at Silverstone, his teammate Carlos Sainz was frustrated in sixth, stuck behind Daniel Ricciardo for much of the second stint.

The Spaniard echoed the thoughts of Leclerc in previewing Hungary, adding that the level of downforce on the current generation of cars had changed the characteristics of the circuit.

“Budapest recently has become actually a medium to high speed track in these cars,” he said.

“If you look at Monaco and Baku, there are second and third gear corners. Budapest nowadays with these crazily high downforce cars, you have a middle sector that you are in fourth, fifth gear all the time.

“So it’s not a pure low-speed track anymore like it used to be in the past. And I don’t think it’s going to be such a good track for us. I do think that is a great opportunity to be right behind the Red Bull and Mercedes.”