During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc suffered a sudden drop in performance that cost Ferrari what he believes may have been their only real chance at a win in the 2025 season.

Having started from pole position after delivering a stunning lap in qualifying, Leclerc led the early stages of the race, staying ahead of both McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as well as Mercedes’ George Russell. He controlled the opening half of the Grand Prix, leading 28 of the first 39 laps and only briefly surrendering the lead to Norris, who was on a one-stop strategy and would go on to take the win.

But everything changed around lap 40. As Piastri began closing in, Leclerc’s pace dropped off dramatically. The Ferrari driver lost a huge amount of time in the final phase of the race, around 37 seconds to Piastri over the last 30 laps. He eventually fell back behind both McLarens and George Russell, ending the race in fourth place and left wondering what might have been.

After the race, Leclerc revealed that a potential chassis issue may have been the cause of the dramatic loss in speed. The Monegasque expressed how bitter the outcome felt, especially knowing how rare such opportunities are for Ferrari in the current season.

“I think they are the strongest team out there,” he said about McLaren to Motorsport Week.

“Even today, they were very, very fast. I think on a track like this, what gave me hope of winning is that we were starting first. With the dirty air, it’s a struggle to get past. I think Oscar probably had a bit more pace than me, but he couldn’t overtake.”

When asked if he thought he could have beaten the McLarens without the issue, Leclerc admitted: “I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”

He then added: “I don’t think we are getting into the second half of the season thinking that we can win anywhere. That’s what makes the frustration even bigger, because we knew that this was one opportunity, probably over the season, and we had to take it. But unfortunately, with this issue, we couldn’t do much.”