Angry Toto Wolff takes aim at Charles Leclerc after ‘pointless’ action at the Hungarian Grand Prix

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The second half of the Hungarian Grand Prix saw the hopes and dreams of millions of Ferrari fans ripped to shreds.

Charles Leclerc’s challenge for victory completely fell apart midway through the Hungaroring event, sending cryptic messages over the radio, complaining about a pre-race discussed issue.

It turned out to be a Ferrari chassis issue that curtailed his afternoon, dropping from victory contention to fourth place at the chequered flag.

His rather frustrating Hungarian Grand Prix result sees him head into the summer break fifth in the drivers’ championship, with second in the constructors’ being the only thing to play for in 2025.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur made a ‘doubt’ claim about Leclerc’s woes, downplaying the severity of his issues after the race.

However, F1 fans blamed Ferrari for ‘ruining’ Leclerc’s race and felt as though they should have done a better job keeping him in contention for the podium at the very least.

READ MORE: Ferrari are not helping Charles Leclerc reach his full potential as alarming stat emerges at Hungarian Grand Prix

Angry Toto Wolff claims Charles Leclerc’s penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix was ‘pointless’

Although the weekend ended on a sour note, Leclerc will love what Lewis Hamilton said about him following his pole position lap on Saturday. His efforts surprised just about everyone.

But, one Sunday, his late defence of third position against Mercedes’ George Russell drew criticism and resulted in him receiving a five-second penalty.

The Briton claimed that Leclerc was moving under braking, which the stewards agreed with. His punishment ended up having no effect on the outcome of the race, though.

And that’s what frustrated Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who complained to Sky Sport Germany about Leclerc’s ‘pointless’ actions.

“The penalty is pointless – five seconds when no one is behind you for 30 seconds,” he said. “The second manoeuvre was definitely too hard, it can end in a collision, and that was unnecessary.”

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc ‘surprised’ by ‘very interesting’ thing he’s noticed with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

Why Charles Leclerc couldn’t have received a more extreme penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Not only are the stewards set on remaining consistent with their decision-making, but Leclerc’s moves only just crossed a fine line in Budapest.

It’s unfortunate that the next car finished more than 10 seconds behind him, but the only way he would have felt the punishment for his actions would have been with a drive-through penalty.

While Leclerc has more ‘experience’ than Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari’s car woes, he certainly doesn’t when it comes to on-track battling.

If he had made contact with Russell, then such a punishment might have been warranted, but there was little the stewards could do in the situation presented to them.

It will have put his defence on their radar, though, and repeated offences could land the Monegasque driver in further trouble.