Martin Brundle backs Russell’s claim on 'close to illegal' Ferrari

It was George Russell who claimed the final step on the podium at the Hungaroring behind the two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, after overtaking Charles Leclerc.

The Briton also saw that the SF-25 was close to being illegal, as he saw the Monegasque driver losing pace, especially compared to how he could stay ahead of Oscar Piastri in the beginning.

According to Russell, the team's aim was to reduce plank wear, the reason why Lewis Hamilton was already disqualified back at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle also weighed in this matter in his column. "This Ferrari works much better closer to the ground, especially at the rear, and we often see it heavily bottoming out. This can wear the 'plank' underneath and render the car illegal, as happened in China earlier this year."

The Briton also sees Ferrari did the same things the Mercedes driver referred to in the media pen after the Grand Prix.

"We know they sometimes lift off the throttle in high-speed corners to protect that wear when the car is heavily aero loaded. In Budapest at his pit stops they raised tyre pressures, which raises the car but gives away grip, and the team also reduced front-wing angle," he explained.

Brundle saw an angry Monegasque driver, as he also commented on the five-second penalty he received for driving erratically. "Leclerc eventually finished an angry 42 seconds behind the winner, which included a five-second penalty for unreasonably banging into the side of Russell into Turn One when he was being passed for the final step on the podium," the Briton concluded.