Formula 1 Hungarian GP
George Russell hints at Ferrari disqualification risk after Charles Leclerc issues at Hungarian GP
George Russell suggested that Charles Leclerc's dramatic loss of pace during the Hungarian Grand Prix may have been due to Ferrari running the car too low
Lydia Mee
Edited: Aug 3, 2025, 4:46 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell has discussed Charles Leclerc's severe drop in pace during the Hungarian Grand Prix, explaining that he could have been running the car too low and risked a disqualification for excessive plank wear.
Leclerc started the race at the Hungaroring from pole position and had a strong first stint. He retained his lead at the start and kept a strong pace until pitting from the lead on the 41st lap. After that point, the Monegasque driver complained over the team radio, stating that he had "lost all competitiveness."
"This is so incredibly frustrating. We have lost all competitiveness, you just have to listen to me," he said to his race engineer Bryan Bozzi. "I would have found a different way of managing those issues. Now it's just undriveable. It's a miracle if we finish on the podium."
Although the reason for his drop in performance has not been explained by Ferrari, Russell, who finished the race in third ahead of Leclerc in fourth, gave his verdict on the situation while speaking to Sky Sports F1.
"Well, I saw how slow he was, so I presumed something was not right," the Briton explained.
"The only thing we can think of is they were running the car too low to the ground, and they had to increase the tyre pressures for the last stint because they were using an engine mode that was making the engine slower at the end of the straight, which is where you have the most amount of plank wear."
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
When told that Leclerc had said that it was related to the chassis, Russell added: "He's not going to tell you that they're close to being illegal. That's the only thing we can think of based upon the lap times and the engine mode they were running and stuff like that, but nevertheless, really pleased with the result.
"Strange weekend when you look at it, if you exclude McLaren and you look at the order of sort of P3 to P13, it's quite odd. You wouldn't expect Max to be so far down. Aston had an amazing weekend, so we'll take the positives. We won't get carried away with them."
Photos from Hungarian GP - Race
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Hungarian GP - Sunday, in photos
Formula 1
75
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Lewis Hamilton's cryptic response to his ‘Ferrari needs to change driver’ comments
Next article Red Bull reveals cause of Hungarian GP meltdown
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lydia Mee
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
1 mo
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
1 mo
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
1 mo
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
More from
George Russell
George Russell launches karting academy
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
20 h
George Russell launches karting academy
Mercedes explains "unusual" car behaviour behind Kimi Antonelli's costly Interlagos spin
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Mercedes explains "unusual" car behaviour behind Kimi Antonelli's costly Interlagos spin
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 h
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 15 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
15 h
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 16 h
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
16 h
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe