Ralf Schumacher lashed out at Ferrari after the Hungarian GP. According to the German, the team from Maranello completely let slip an excellent starting position due to mistakes in execution and strategy. Beforehand, Ferrari – like McLaren – was considered one of the biggest contenders, but in the end, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished outside the top three.
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Ferrari initially had a strong weekend at the Hungaroring. Lewis Hamilton secured a spot on the front row after qualifying. However, race engineer Carlo Santi did not warn about an approaching Oscar Piastri in the final phase of Q3. The FIA stewards were relentless and gave Hamilton a three-place grid penalty for impeding the Australian. As a result, teammate Charles Leclerc moved up to the second starting position.
During the race, Hamilton was unable to fight back to the podium. In the final stages, the seven-time world champion was pressured by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, but third place remained out of reach. During a late pit stop – which Hamilton strongly disagreed with – he also received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Thus, he ended up in P5, behind his teammate, who lost sight of the podium after a dramatic start.
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‘A big disappointment’
Schumacher was clear in his judgment afterwards. “It was actually a big disappointment,” he said about the Scuderia’s performance. “On Friday, they were half a second faster than the rest of the field, and somehow they couldn’t maintain that or extend that lead,” said the former driver in an analysis for Sky Sports. “Everyone overtook them left and right. Moreover, they called Lewis (Hamilton, ed.) in at the wrong moment, causing him to lose position again. A bit of a shame, but I think you’ll be reading about that tomorrow in Italy,” he grinned.
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