F1: Ferrari labelled 'embarrassing' after Charles Leclerc disaster in Hungary

Ferrari's continued implosion during races this season has seen them labelled "embarrassing" by the F1 community. The Italian team's strategy blunder on Sunday cost Charles Leclerc yet another potential victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which Max Verstappen won to extend his lead in the championship.

Leclerc, who eventually finished sixth, looked comfortable in the lead of the race after having overtaken pole-sitter George Russell after the first round of pit stops. However, the Ferrari team was exposed again after they reacted poorly to Red Bull Racing's call to pit Max Verstappen early for his second stop.

The Dutch racer, who started 10th, was surging through the field, and decided to stop early to undercut cars in front of him, namely Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz. Ferrari buckled under pressure and called race leader Leclerc in for an early stop and put him on the hard tyres.

A layman watching the race could have told Ferrari that it was a wrong decision after having seen the Alpines struggle after going on to the hard tyres during their first stop. Sky Sports' Johnny Herbert was at a loss to explain the Maranello-based team's decision, and the former F1 racer feels the person responsible should be held accountable.

"I really don't understand it," Herbert said. "Why they didn't look at the Alpines who were struggling on the hards, as well as everyone else on the hards?"

"The pressure was put on by Red Bull there for Ferrari to react wrongly," he added. "They've got to get the right people in to allow them to do what Red Bull does and what Mercedes does. They need to sort it out quickly."

"When you've got a car that can win races and you are just giving away these race wins or maximum points that should be coming your way, it's embarrassing."

Leclerc, meanwhile, was surprisingly calm despite labelling the team's decision to switch him on to the hard tyres "a disaster." He wants an inquisition into why he was called in for an early stop despite informing the team that he was comfortable on the mediums.

"I'm very, very disappointed obviously," Leclerc said, as quoted on F1.com. "The pace was really good on the medium tyres, the second stint also [on mediums] everything was under control and then we decided to stop on the hards."

"I don't exactly know what are the reasons behind this decision yet, but we'll speak with the team for me to understand, but clearly it wasn't the right decision. And I made it clear that I felt good on the medium, so I don't exactly know what happened."