Ferrari "vulnerable" to midfield attack in Hungary - Sainz

Carlos Sainz has conceded Ferrari may be vulnerable to an assault from the midfield teams after a tough Friday in Hungary.

Aston Martin and Alpine placed both cars inside the top 10 in practice, with AlphaTauri also achieving the feat with Pierre Gasly.

For Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was 11th and Sainz 12th, a result that prompted the Spanish driver to express concerns the team could lose ground on rivals McLaren in Sunday's race.

"Unfortunately, before coming here already we knew that we have some weaknesses in our car and knew that for some corners it was not going to be particularly good," said Sainz.

"We could prove it today. In Monaco, we would never have been P10 or P11 in a practice session and today as soon as something went in the wrong direction we found ourselves outside the top 10.

"So it shows we are a lot more vulnerable in this kind of track. It’s not a Monaco but we will hope we can recover a bit of pace and be on top of the midfield.

"It’s not going to be easy because the Alpine looks quick, the McLaren, the Aston Martin was very quick also, so it looks like a very mixed midfield and it should be an interesting battle for Q3."

Leclerc appeared less concerned by the Scuderia's lack of pace, teasing the true pace would become evident on Saturday.

"We went through the plan," he added. "The track changed a little bit but apart from that, we are quite happy with how we feel in the car for now.

"The performance we will see in qualifying but the feeling is quite good for now.

"We still have some work to do everything at 100 per cent on Saturday but we are on a good road.”

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