Leclerc Walks Back Frustrated Team Radio Comments After Disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc Endures Frustrating Fourth Place at Hungarian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, who had secured pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix with a brilliant performance on Saturday, endured a frustrating Sunday as his race unraveled, leaving him to finish a disappointing fourth. Initially, the Ferrari driver let his frustrations spill over on the team radio, appearing to blame the Scuderia for the mismanagement of his race strategy. However, in the aftermath of the race, Leclerc retracted his critical comments, acknowledging that a mechanical issue with the car had been the true culprit behind his struggles.

Radio Frustrations During the Race

Leclerc’s frustrations began brewing during the final stint of the race, where a promising start turned into a challenging fight to remain competitive. His radio messages grew increasingly pointed as he expressed his dissatisfaction with the calls made during the race. At one point, the Monegasque driver fumed:

"We are going to lose this race with these things. We are losing so much time."

After a second pit stop, his mood worsened further as his car’s performance faltered. Leclerc lamented over the airwaves:

"This is so incredibly frustrating. We've lost all competitiveness. You just have to listen to me, I would have found a different way of managing those issues. Now it's just undriveable. Undriveable. It’s a miracle if we finish on the podium."

Ultimately, Leclerc’s prediction proved accurate. After briefly running in second place, he was overtaken by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and then Mercedes’ George Russell, leaving him to finish fourth, off the podium.

Post-Race Reflection: An Apparent Chassis Issue

Speaking to the media after the race, Leclerc provided a calmer and more measured assessment of the situation, walking back his earlier criticisms of the team. He revealed that Ferrari had identified an issue with the car’s chassis that hampered its performance in the latter part of the race, effectively ruling out strategy as the root cause of his struggles.

"First of all, I need to take back the words I've said in the radio because I thought that it was coming from one thing, but then I got a lot more detail since I got out of the car," Leclerc said. "It was actually an issue coming from the chassis and nothing that we could have done differently."

"I started to feel the issue in Lap 40 or something like that, and then it got worse, laps after laps after laps, and towards the end we were two seconds off the pace. And the car was just undriveable."

During his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1, Leclerc admitted he may have jumped to conclusions too quickly:

"I spoke too quickly, I guess."

Though Ferrari was able to pinpoint the issue after the race, Leclerc said the exact cause of the problem remains unclear.

"I don’t know yet how it was caused, but we’ll look into it ... I think it was quite tricky. Otherwise, I probably would have known, and they would have told me. But yeah, apparently it wasn’t as obvious on data. However, now you can definitely confirm that there was a problem," he explained.

A Missed Opportunity in a Struggling Season

Leclerc’s pole position had raised hopes for a strong result at a track where overtaking opportunities are limited and starting up front can yield significant rewards. However, the mechanical issue and its timing were particularly frustrating for Leclerc, given how Ferrari has struggled to consistently compete at the highest level in 2023.

"This was an issue, and it’s an outlier. It shouldn’t ever happen again," Leclerc said. "I mean, I’m still very disappointed. We had one opportunity this year to win a race, which I think was this weekend. The first stint was perfect. The first laps of the second stint were really good as well.

"I think we were on pace to try and win that race. The last stint was a disaster when I started to have an issue in the chassis."

For Leclerc and Ferrari, the Hungarian Grand Prix will go down as a missed opportunity to capitalize on their rare moment of competitiveness this season. Both the driver and the team will now turn their attention to understanding the problem in an effort to ensure it does not happen again as the championship continues.

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