Charles Leclerc makes himself look silly after landing Hungarian Grand Prix pole

Charles Leclerc will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position after blowing away his rivals in qualifying on Saturday. But just 48 hours before the session, the Monegasque had exclaimed that the Hungaroring circuit in Mogyorod was his "worst track of the season."

Leclerc has endured a tough time at the Hungaroring in previous years and has never been able to finish the Hungarian Grand Prix higher than fourth. But he has enjoyed a purple patch of form in recent weeks and has ended four of the previous six races on the podium. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were expected to compete for pole position in Hungary, with the two McLaren stars locked in a title battle this season. However, Leclerc got the better of the duo as he put himself in the frame for race victory.

Leclerc was asked about his recent podium finishes on Thursday as he assessed his chances of success at this weekend's Grand Prix. And the 27-year-old explained: "This weekend, I'm not sure. It's by far my worst track of the season."

He then added: "I'm looking forward to trying to prove that wrong and to finally have a good weekend here in Budapest."

When asked why he had struggled at the Hungaroring in the past, he explained: "I don't know, I wish I knew - it just hasn't been very successful for me in the past.

"It's probably something with my driving style. I've got to work a little harder here compared to other tracks, but that's fine."

And when comparing his Hungary woes to his successes at the Monaco circuit, which is often described as a similar track, he stated: "Maybe it's the walls that are missing. I don't know where it's coming from, but I'm still confident we can have a great weekend. We'll see how it goes."

Leclerc clearly shocked himself with his performance in qualifying, with his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton only able to clock the 12th fastest lap of the day.

And following the session, Leclerc admitted: "Today I don't understand anything at Formula 1. Honestly the whole qualifying has been extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult it's not exaggerating, it was super, super difficult.

"It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. [In] Q3 the conditions changed a little bit, everything became a lot trickier and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. At the end, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that."