Charles Leclerc being slowed by Ferrari in Hungarian GP claims debunked in new reports

Charles Leclerc finished fourth at the Hungarian GP after starting on pole position, with the Monegasque lamenting the car's balance over the radio on his final stint. This led many to reckon that the team had changed the characteristics of the car mid-race, which went against its expectations. But this theory has been nullified, according to reports, as the issue with the chassis is understood to be the underlying factor.

Leclerc claimed his 27th pole position at the Hungaroring. He had the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris chasing him behind in the first phase of the race. But the ferrari driver was initially able to pull away in the first stint to curb away an undercut threat while he made the undercut himself during his second pit stop.

However, since lap 40, the Monegasque soon bemoaned a brewing problem within the car, which he initially understood to be down to the team implementing a change in his last pit stop that altered the feel of the car. He then drove the remainder of the race with a defensive mindset and still wasn't able to claim a podium finish.

But, after getting out of the car, he realized that he had been towing along a chassis issue with his car. Though many questioned whether this was a cover-up and that Ferrari had messed up, according to Autoracer.it, this is not the case.

There was indeed an unidentified issue with the chassis that handicapped Leclerc during the second phase of the race. He struggled with mid-corner understeer and had a reduced top speed, making him a sitting duck on straights.

Moreover, Ferrari raised the tire pressures to give the car a broader operating window and curb such issues. While initially it seemed that this decision was taken against Leclerc’s will as the Monegasque criticised the team over the radio, this action was seemingly required in hindsight.

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Charles Leclerc asserted that a race victory was on the cards at the Hungarian GP until the chassis issue struck him

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc had a strong hold on the lead of the Hungarian GP in his first two stints. But, with the chassis issue holding him back, he limped home to finish in fourth, three spots behind where he started.

With reliability being the key factor behind his subpar pace in the second half of the race, the Ferrari driver admitted how he could have won the race if he had not been dragging the chassis issue with him for a fair chunk of the race (via Ferrari):

"This is not the outcome we hoped for but there was nothing we could have done to control it considering the issue we had. I got some more insight into what was happening after getting out of the car and it turns out that we had an issue on the chassis that started just about when I began to feel a difference in how the car behaved. It’s frustrating, because I think we could have won today, but we will return after the summer break and give it our all to come back stronger."

Charles Leclerc sits fifth in the drivers' standings and conceded ground to his main rival, George Russell, who outscored him by 3 points at the race and now sits 21 points clear of the Monegasque.