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A week after potentially costing Carlos Sainz a podium spot at the French Grand Prix, Ferrari made another bizarre decision in the Hungarian Grand Prix by pitting Charles Leclerc and having him change to hard tires. This came at a time when every other driver was struggling with hard tires due to poor weather conditions, and Leclerc was in third place. He finished the race sixth. Here’s the driver expressing his frustration at the team's decision.
I feel for Leclerc, it’s tough when the team let’s you down! pic.twitter.com/NL8l5Q6eZx
— Ndwaru Njoroge (@labanish) July 31, 2022
Clearly, there was some miscommunication between the team and Leclerc. Here’s a look at the post-race radio transcript.
| Charles Leclerc post-race radio:
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) July 31, 2022
“The hard were so bad. That’s why I said I wanted to stay on medium for as long as possible. Was this the same for everyone?”
Xavi: “Same for everyone.”
Charles: “Why did we go on it?”
Xavi: “We will talk later.”
Max Verstappen continued his domination, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix to extend his lead in the driver’s championship over Leclerc. The young Ferrari driver was unlikely to catch Verstappen but needed this race to potentially keep that hope alive. With Verstappen starting this race in 10th, Leclerc had a golden opportunity to make up valuable points.
We’ll see if Ferrari makes a change during the season in the strategy group or if the team waits until the end of the year to make a move.