Charles Leclerc has revealed an issue with his chassis was behind the alarming loss of pace that saw him miss out on a podium in Formula 1 ‘s Hungarian Grand Prix. Leclerc retained the lead at the start and remained ahead across the opening two stints until a sudden increase in his lap times saw him drop back to a distant fourth.

“What?!” Leclerc replied to his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, after being told the result. He laughed to himself afterwards: “Mamma mia. My God!” The bemusement initially hidden by Leclerc’s helmet remained etched on his face after he hopped out of his car and celebrated with his team.

Charles Leclerc was left distinctly flabbergasted by his own run to a "most surprising" Formula 1 pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having claimed that qualifying had felt "horrible" until he'd managed to reach Q3.