Reports point to real culprit behind Charles Leclerc’s misery in Hungarian GP

Charles Leclerc had a tough outing in the 2025 Hungarian GP as he started from P1 but finished P4. Reportedly, the Maranello-based Ferrari Formula 1 team has figured out the reason behind the sudden decline in the car's performance.

After starting the 70-lap race in Budapest from P1, Charles Leclerc was in cruise control, holding off the McLarens quite comfortably. However, after making his final pit stop on lap 40, he just wasn't able to extract the kind of pace he showed earlier in his SF-25.

In line with this, Leclerc suspected that there was something broken on the chassis side of things and said in his post-race interview:

"We were in control for the first stint, a bit more difficult for the second one, but it was still manageable. The last stint was a disaster, very difficult to drive. he balance was not there. Honestly so far we don't know exactly what's happened.

"We have to investigate if we have something broken on the chassis side or whatever. At one stage I thought that we would never finish the race."

While Charles Leclerc suspected that there might have been an issue with the chassis, it has come to light that his woes actually began after the changes made to his car during his final pit stop.

As per The Race, after Ferrari looked into Leclerc's Hungarian GP racecar, it has been ascertained that the latter lost performance after lap 40 because of an increase in tire pressures and an alteration to the front wing.

Former Ferrari engineer delves into 'possibility' of Charles Leclerc leaving Ferrari

F1 Grand Prix Of Hungary - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc has been making his trade in the pinnacle of motorsport with Ferrari since the 2019 season. He is one of the top talents on the modern grid and is right up there with the likes of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Just like any other driver, Leclerc has aspirations to amass the coveted drivers' championship in the coming years. In line with this, a former Ferrari engineer, Francesco Cigarini, has explored the possibility of Leclerc leaving Ferrari. In a recent interaction with Formula1.it, the former said via GP Blog:

"It's possible, but I think his thought process is: ‘What if I change teams and in a year or two Ferrari comes up with the car I need to win the World Championship?’ Then you have to consider what alternatives you have and how certain you are about them."

In the ongoing 2025 Formula 1 season, Charles Leclerc has managed to amass five impressive podiums in an inconsistent SF-25. However, he has not yet won a race, and he would thus try to rectify this in the remaining 10 races of the season. Round 15 will take place this week, the Dutch Grand Prix.