New Delhi, July 31 (NationPress) Ferrari's Team Principal Fred Vasseur is optimistic that the team's daring choice to implement their latest upgrades during the Belgian Grand Prix will yield positive results this weekend in Hungary, as the Italian team aims to narrow the gap with championship frontrunners McLaren.

The team unveiled a long-anticipated rear suspension enhancement at Spa-Francorchamps, intending to tackle persistent performance challenges in low-speed corners. Despite facing limited practice opportunities due to the Sprint weekend structure, the new components showed encouraging signs. Charles Leclerc secured a podium finish in third place, while Lewis Hamilton bounced back from a disappointing qualifying session to take seventh.

“Certainly, some upgrades during the season provide immediate benefits from the first lap,” Vasseur remarked to Sky Sports. “Others require fine-tuning to grasp their behavior and correlation with brakes, ride height, and so forth. We are still navigating through this phase.”

Vasseur confessed that he would have preferred a more traditional race weekend to roll out such significant upgrades but recognized that the timing for taking this risk was right.

“If I had the choice, I would have preferred to have Spa on a regular weekend and gradually introduce the changes,” he explained. “However, I don’t control the calendar, and it was more advantageous to take the risk this weekend. It was the best decision to make in Belgium to prepare for Budapest.”

Leclerc mentioned that the new rear suspension should be even more beneficial in Hungary, a circuit characterized by slow-speed corners. “We struggled a bit in low-speed corners this weekend,” Vasseur acknowledged. “It indicates that improvements are still necessary. However, I am quite optimistic that the data we collected will be advantageous in Budapest.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton is actively seeking enhancements both on and off the track in what has been a tough debut season with Ferrari. Prior to the Belgian GP, he disclosed that he has been consistently providing feedback and documentation to the team to help turn their fortunes around.

“I refuse to be just another driver who doesn’t win a championship with Ferrari,” Hamilton stated.

His former teammate Nico Rosberg commended the seven-time world champion’s determination. “It’s encouraging to see Lewis pushing because he could easily give up,” Rosberg noted. “He could say, ‘Why should I struggle through this again?’ But he’s incredibly committed and motivated, which is fantastic to observe.”

While Leclerc has achieved five podium finishes this season, Hamilton is still in search of his first—a drought that Rosberg believes could end this weekend.

“It’s a tough situation for him,” Rosberg remarked. “Leclerc had an outstanding weekend, while Lewis faced challenges throughout… Yes, he had a great race, but it’s hard when your teammate finishes third.”

“Hungary is one of his strongest tracks globally, along with Montreal. There are two tracks where I never won, Montreal and Hungary, simply because Lewis was unbeatable there!”