Charles Leclerc slumped to a P4 finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, citing issues with his Ferrari as the reason for the unfortunate result.
Leclerc claimed a surprise pole position for the Hungarian GP, but was unable to convert it for a ninth career victory. The Monegasque started the race well, but suffered with a chassis issue around lap 40 and faded outside of the podium places. The Hungarian GP was no better for Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished P12.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Leclerc rued the issue that made his car “undrivable” and wished for it to not return.
A problem with the chassis caused issues for Leclerc
Leclerc fought off the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the start of the Hungarian GP, even creating a gap between himself and Piastri in P2. However, disaster struck and Leclerc’s lead was sapped away by an issue with his Ferrari. Later on in the race, the issue saw George Russell easily pass Leclerc, as the Ferrari man was doomed to P4.
Revealing what caused the downfall of his Hungarian GP, Leclerc stated: “Unfortunately, it was a problem on the chassis. So there was an issue on that side and we’ll look into it for it to not happen again,” before expanding on when the issue started: “It was around lap 40, I think, as soon as I started to struggle and complain. That’s basically where we started to have the issue and then unfortunately it got worse and worse.”
Adding to his explanation of the problem, Leclerc wished for the issue to never return.
“It doesn’t really make me feel any better, because when you’re fighting for a win and you have those kinds of issues, it never happens. But today we’ve had this problem and we need to look at it for it to never ever happen again, because the car was just undrivable.”
Frustration for Leclerc at the issue costing him a strong result
Leclerc had seen results over the last few races, with a pair of podiums in Austria and Belgium. An unexpected pole at the Hungaroring seemed like the perfect opportunity for Leclerc to taste victory in 2025, and the Ferrari man acknowledges the frustration of his car costing him the opportunity.
“It was very frustrating to have everything under control, to know that the pace is in the car to win and then you end up being nowhere. We even lost the podium, so it was very difficult.”
Victory for the Tifosi would have been the team’s first Sunday win of the season, with the only other success being Hamilton’s Chinese Sprint Race victory.
