What was the mysterious problem with Ferrari that Charles Leclerc had cost a chance of the podium in Hungary? The Monegasse had conquered the pole in the last race before the summer break and was large parts of the race in front of McLarens Oscar Piatri until his pace broke out in the last stint.
Leclerc had severe problems in the final phase to keep up with the competition and in the end even missed the podium as fourth. Where exactly the problem was, Ferrari was unable to communicate on site in Hungary and announced an in -depth investigation.
Mercedes pilot George Russell, who had taken third place from Leclerc, said in Budapest: Ferrari had set the car too deep and had to increase the tire pressure at the last pit stop so as not to wear out too much. This made the balance of the car out of balance.
According to Ferrari, a set-up adjustment should have been responsible for the poor performance at the last pit stop (and not a problem on the car), but the race stable continues to make the exact background.
Leclerc: “It is much more complex”
Leclerc himself does not want to reveal too much on Thursday: “I don’t want to comment on that,” he waves. “To be honest, I don’t care what George said after the race. The situation is much more complex than he depicted it, but I won’t go into detail.”
“As we said after Budapest: We will not do what exactly happened,” he clarifies. “It is something that we want to get under control internally and on which we all work. The only thing I can say: it is much more complicated than it sounds.”
Ferrari had often struggled with high planned wear in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified in China due to a too thin base plate – Leclerc was also excluded from the classification at the time, but because his car was underweight.
In Budapest, Ferrari could have been preserved from a disqualification by adjusting the pit stop – but at the expense of competitiveness. There was great frustration in the team after the weekend because it was probably the best chance to win a race.
Best chance of winning?
“Definitely in the first half of the season. I don’t know whether in the second half,” says Leclerc. “I hope we will be pleasantly surprised.”
This is possible, he says, and refers to the race in Monza last year when nobody believed that Ferrari could win there. “And in the end it was possible,” he emphasizes. “So I hope that we will be surprised again this time.”
“But of course, starting from the Pole in Hungary, on a route that is so difficult on overtaking, was a huge opportunity – and this year we won’t have many of them when you see how strong McLaren is currently.”
But he emphasizes that he is not so much focused on probabilities, “but rather what we can do as a team to get into the best possible position to challenge McLaren – which are currently really extremely strong.”