George Russell makes 'illegal' Ferrari comment that impacted Charles Leclerc

George Russell believes that Charles Leclerc's car was 'close to being illegal' at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Monegasque racer was forced into intense management that cost him considerable time after a string of cryptic radio messages.

Leclerc managed to convert his pole position into the lead of the race on the opening lap and held off Oscar Piastri during the first stint, but the Ferrari star lost control of the race to Lando Norris on a one-stop strategy, while the championship leader also came past with 19 laps remaining.

Russell also made his way past Leclerc to snatch away the final spot on the podium, but the pole-sitter didn't relinquish his position without a fight. He moved under braking twice, angering the Brit in the process, before eventually giving up the fight. Amidst this battle, the Ferrari driver was becoming more and more irate on the radio over an unspecified drivability issue.

"This is so incredibly frustrating," Leclerc ranted on the radio. "We have lost all competitiveness. You just have to listen to me. 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."

After the chequered flag, Leclerc was quizzed over his comments. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he explained: "I spoke too quickly, I guess, because getting out of the car, I got a few more details about what went on. I thought it was about something else that we had discussed, but unfortunately, it was a problem on the chassis."

Leclerc's comments were directed at Russell, but the four-time Grand Prix winner wasn't buying his rival's explanation."Well, I saw how slow he was, so I presumed something was not right," the Mercedes driver replied.

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"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."

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."

The Brit is now just 15 points behind third-placed Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship standings after the Dutchman laboured to a P9 finish in Hungary. The reigning world champion has now finished on the podium just once in the last seven races as his Red Bull team continue to trend in the wrong direction after Christian Horner's departure.