It was an extremely bitter Sunday for Scuderia Ferrari and its Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur, particularly given that Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc had started the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position but eventually crossed the finish line in only fourth place. Vasseur, who leads the Maranello-based outfit, did not hide his deep disappointment and frustration at what he described as a missed opportunity for the team.
Frédéric Vasseur explained in the post-race debrief, “I must say the situation was quite strange. We were in full control for the first 40 laps of the race.” He continued, “The first stint was very solid. The second stint was a bit more complicated, but still manageable. The final stint, however, was a disaster—the car became extremely difficult to drive.”
Charles Leclerc appeared to have the race under control for a large portion of the Grand Prix, but everything changed in the final third of the race, when the SF-25’s performance suddenly and inexplicably collapsed. The drop in pace was dramatic and caught the team completely off guard.
Fred Vasseur puzzled by mysterious issues on the Ferrari SF-25
Frédéric Vasseur admitted that the team still does not have a clear understanding of what went wrong. He said, “The car lost its balance entirely, and we still don’t know exactly what caused it. We need to investigate further. Perhaps something broke on the chassis or somewhere else on the car. At one point, I genuinely thought we wouldn’t even be able to finish the race.”
The dramatic loss of performance from the SF-25 was both evident and completely unexpected. Charles Leclerc repeatedly asked for explanations over the team radio, but he received no definitive answers, fueling speculation that a sudden structural or mechanical problem may have occurred.
Fred Vasseur continued, “We had done all the preparation well. We had identified the weaknesses and understood the key areas, but yes… it’s extremely frustrating because I believe we were in a position to take our first win of the season.” The sense of disappointment was palpable within the Ferrari garage, especially considering the strong pace shown in the first two stints of the race. There was a real and concrete opportunity to beat both McLaren and Mercedes purely on race pace, but that chance vanished when it mattered most.
The Maranello-based Scuderia will now conduct a thorough analysis of Charles Leclerc’s car, the number 16 SF-25, to determine whether the collapse in performance was caused by a specific mechanical failure or by an unexpected and sudden degradation of the tyres or other components. For now, however, the sting of a missed victory weighs heavily on the team, who had clearly shown they had the speed to fight at the very front.
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