“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.

Leclerc experienced his own frustrations in Hungary, at the track he declared to be his worst in Formula One heading into the weekend. The 27-year-old seized a surprise pole position from the grasp of the title-hunting McLaren duo, but things unravelled after the lights went out.

Charles Leclerc has been able to win races at Ferrari but, in seven years with the team in Formula 1, has not yet had the chance to challenge for championship glory