A brilliant clip posted on ESPN F1âs Twitter account shows Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Max Verstappen all reacting with confusion and amusement in the cool down room to Ferrariâs decision to put Charles Leclerc onto the hard tyres for his third stint.Ferrari driver Leclerc was leading the Hungarian Grand Prix until his team took the disastrous decision to put the Monegasque on hard tyres, leaving him with no pace on the compound and dropping down numerous places.Ferrariâs attempt to then rectify their mistake by putting some soft tyres on Leclerc came too late and saw him drop down to and finish in sixth position.Leclerc did not hide his frustration post race, stating: âWe need to speak with the team and understand the thought behind putting the hard tyre on because I felt very strong with the medium. Everything was under control and for some reason, I don't know why, we went on the hards.âThe 24-year-old continued: âI said on the radio I was comfortable on the medium and I wanted to go as long as possible on those tyres because the feeling was good. I don't know why we took a different decision."
And it is not just Leclerc that has showed his confusion at the Italian teamâs decision, with the top three finishers Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell seen to be very puzzled at the decision in the cool down room.
As the three were watching footage of the race backstage, Hamilton is baffled at Ferrariâs decision, asking teammate Russell and rival Verstappen in a shocked tone: âFerrari were on the hards?â
Both Verstappen and Russell laugh in disbelief, responding âYeahâ to Hamilton, while looking like they could not believe their luck with the situation.
One even commented on ESPN F1âs Twitter post âGifted free podiumsâ in reference to the three.
The decision by Ferrari has been described by Leclerc as a âdisasterâ who was lapped by Verstappen twice and is now 80 points behind the defending Dutch champion in the Driversâ Championship, which seems an insurmountable gap to close by the end of the season.
So, it is a sour note for Ferrari to head into the four-week summer break on, before returning for the Belgian GP on August 28, where Leclerc will certainly be hoping that similar mistakes by his team do not reoccur.