Charles Leclerc vents his frustration after losing the chance to win the Hungarian Grand Prix. In his view, it was a chassis problem that slowed him down during the final stint, although Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has a different theory.
Scuderia Ferrari had started the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with both optimism and the clear ambition to finally secure its first race victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Until the second pit stop of Charles Leclerc, those hopes remained realistic and firmly intact. However, everything changed dramatically in the final phase of the race.
In the last stint of the Grand Prix, the Ferrari SF-25 with race number 16 suddenly lost performance. Not only did Charles Leclerc lose the chance to fight for victory against the McLaren drivers, but he also missed out on a podium finish entirely, falling to fourth place and ending the race in a frustrating and undeserved position after such an encouraging weekend.
At the end of the race, following a quick debrief with his race engineers, Charles Leclerc finally understood what had held him back during the closing stages of the race. According to the Monegasque driver, a chassis issue emerged around lap 40, significantly compromising the final stint.
“Obviously, I didn’t have all the information while I was inside the car, but now I do. From lap 40 onwards, we had a problem with the chassis,” Charles Leclerc explained. “From that point on, I was just a passenger. I couldn’t do anything anymore. I was extremely frustrated in the cockpit because I initially believed the issue came from another setup decision made earlier in the race, but that wasn’t the case.”
Leclerc’s statement is particularly interesting not only because it sheds light on what may have slowed him down in the final stint, but also because it directly contradicts the explanation provided by Ferrari’s team principal Frédéric Vasseur. The French manager believes something else was at play—possibly a tire pressure issue that compromised car performance late in the race.
Regardless of the different interpretations given by Frédéric Vasseur and Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque driver did not hide his disappointment and frustration. The opportunity to win a race this season was finally real, and in Leclerc’s opinion, the Maranello-based team simply failed to take advantage of it.
“There is still a lot of disappointment and frustration because, if there was one opportunity this year to take a race win, it was today,” said Charles Leclerc. “The pace was there. In the first stint, we were strong. In the second stint, we were fast too—at least up to around lap 40. But then, in the last 30 laps, we lost around 45 seconds. I am extremely disappointed, but this is racing. Now that I understand what happened behind the scenes… these are things you can’t predict.”
The Ferrari driver also admitted that he had high hopes going into the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, genuinely believing he could secure a win. The disappointment was even more acute given how well the car had performed in the earlier phases of the race.
“I truly believed we could win this weekend,” added Charles Leclerc. “In the first stint, everything was under control. Yes, perhaps we experienced slightly more tire degradation compared to the McLaren cars, but we were managing it well. In the second stint, we were quick. But after the problem appeared, we lost all our pace. It’s incredibly frustrating.”
Speaking to Sky Sport F1, Charles Leclerc was also extremely candid about the first half of the 2025 Formula 1 season. In his opinion, there is nothing worth saving from these opening months. His comments reflect the deep disappointment within the team, which began the season with very different objectives than those it currently faces.
“There’s absolutely nothing I would save from the first part of this season,” said the Ferrari driver. “I’m truly disappointed, because whenever we get an opportunity to win, we need to take it—and today we didn’t. That’s what sticks with me right now when I look back at the first half of the season.”
“Of course, progress has been made, and I’m happy with how hard we’ve pushed to bring updates to the car,” he concluded. “But on days like this, it’s really hard to see the positives. I’m extremely disappointed.”
