Charles Leclerc Loses Hungarian GP After Major Problem on His Ferrari: 'Very Frustrating'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc was left frustrated after losing a potential victory to Lando Norris. Leclerc held an impressive lead until he pitted for the second time, losing the chance to secure his maiden victory due to an issue with his Ferrari SF-25.
After starting the 70-lap race from pole position, Leclerc managed to keep Oscar Piastri at bay, who put up a strong charge in the first half of the race. Due to significant tire wear, Leclerc adopted a two-stop strategy for the race, switching to the hard compound tire for the final stint.
Piastri followed a similar strategy for the last leg. This handed the race lead to Lando Norris, who managed his tires well and helped execute a flawless one-stop race strategy. Soon after pitting, Leclerc was heard venting his frustration at his race engineer about an issue that his team hadn't taken his word for.
That caused his pace to drop significantly, leading Piastri and George Russell to overtake him in the closing laps of the race. Leclerc finished the race in P4.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari walks in the paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 31, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari walks in the paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 31, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.However, the Monegasque driver admitted after the race that the issue he pointed out on the radio did not cause his pace to drop. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about the problem with the chassis of his SF-25, he said:
"I spoke too quickly I guess because getting out of the car I got a few more details about what went on.
"I thought it was about something else that we had discussed but unfortunately it was a problem on the chassis. There was an issue on that side so we will look into it for it to not happen again.
"It doesn't make me feel any better because when you are fighting for a win and then you have those kind of issues. We need to look at it for it to never happen again as the car was just undriveable."
Leclerc was confident that the issue wouldn't occur again. He said:
"It was a one-off so it's something we need to look into but I don't think it's something we will have ever again.
"It was around lap 40 when we started to have the issue and then it got worse and worse.
"It's very frustrating to have everything under control, have the pace in the car to win, and then you are nowhere. We're not even on the podium."
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