Leclerc slowly returns to the pits, shaking his head, radio off. The Ferrari driver—who started from pole position in the Hungarian Grand Prix thanks to a magical qualifying session on Saturday—finishes fourth. Speechless, it’s hard to think otherwise after a race controlled until the last pit stop, when the Monegasque found himself without pace: the slowest on the track, to the point of being overtaken by some lapped cars. Piastri easily overtakes him, shortly after Russell also arrives, two laps of battle, nothing more. But what happened to Ferrari number 16?
“We’re going to lose this race, we’re losing so much time.” The first worrying team radio message came halfway through the race, when Leclerc was behind Norris’ McLaren, still waiting to make his pit stop. This message was confirmed after the second pit stop for Ferrari number 16: Leclerc quickly lost pace, Piastri easily overtook him, and the Monegasque driver exploded over the radio. “It’s incredibly frustrating. We’ve lost all our competitiveness. You have to listen to me! I would have found a way to deal with these difficulties. Now the car is undriveable. Simply undriveable. It will be a miracle if we finish on the podium.” And that’s exactly how it turned out: Russell also caught up, Charles defended himself for a few laps, but no more. It was impossible to do more.

LECLERC’S PROBLEM—  “A problem with the chassis,” Charles revealed after the race. “I thought it was something else.” He was referring to an adjustment to the front wing made by the Cavallino mechanics during the last pit stop, which the driver considered too “aggressive” and complained about over the radio. It was impossible for the Ferrari driver to notice the damaged chassis, a problem that worsened during the race with a progressive loss of aerodynamic load. From the pits, Brian Bozzi finally asked the Monegasque driver to stay away from the kerbs, limiting the damage until the checkered flag. After the race, the team informed the Ferrari driver of the real nature of the problem, and Leclerc apologized for his harsh reactions over the radio.