Leclerc disappointed with P6 finish in Budapest...''it was a disaster'

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Charles Leclerc was happy with the race pace, and was in a position to win mid-way through the race. He blames the team's decision to switch him to hard tires as the turning point in the race.


Another weekend to forget for Charles Leclerc... Ferrari appeared to be in prime position to steal some points from Red Bull, as Carlos Sainz started in P2 and Leclerc in P3. 

Leclerc showed great pace early in the race, taking the lead on lap 31 of 70. A second pit stop and a switch to hard tires appeared to be what undid all of his hard work as he struggled to warm up the tires and maintain good pace. Calling the hard tires "S***" before losing position to eventual race winner Max Verstappen, Leclerc hit the pit lanes again to change to soft tires. He managed a P6 finish.

"I'm very, very disappointed obviously," Leclerc stated. It is unknown why Ferrari felt hard tires were the best option at that point in the race. The few drivers that had switched to hard tires early on in the race struggled to gain pace and stated the tires were not performing as expected. 

"I don't exactly know what are the reasons behind this decision yet, but we'll speak with the team for me to understand, but clearly it wasn't the right decision. And I made it clear that I felt good on the medium, so I don't exactly know what happened."

It is now time for Summer break, something Leclerc is probably ready for as the past few weeks have not been kind. He still sits in 2nd in the Driver's Championship standings, but the gap to Verstappen has been extended to 80 points.



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