Charles Leclerc secured sixth place in a thrilling Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, capping off a strong recovery drive for Scuderia Ferrari HP at Imola. Starting from 11th after a disappointing qualifying, the Monegasque fought through the midfield and brought home vital points in front of the passionate Italian fans.

Ferrari split strategies for the race, placing Leclerc on Mediums and Lewis Hamilton—starting 12th—on the Hard compound. Leclerc made early gains, passing Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly, before an early pit stop on lap 10 set him up for a clean-air undercut. He climbed to eighth with strong pace, but a mistimed Virtual Safety Car later handed the advantage to Hamilton, who pitted and emerged in a stronger position on fresher tyres.

The closing stages saw Leclerc defending hard against Williams’ Alex Albon, with the pair colliding at the chicane. Hamilton took advantage of the moment to pass both, eventually finishing fourth. Leclerc was later asked to concede position to Albon to avoid a potential penalty after the stewards launched an investigation.

“It just didn’t align today,” Leclerc admitted. “The timing of the VSC and Safety Car didn’t help, but I don’t regret the strategy. P6 isn’t the target, but we showed good race pace again.”

Max Verstappen claimed victory ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but Ferrari left Imola encouraged by its Sunday performance—despite a continued gap in one-lap pace. The team now heads to Monaco, where Leclerc hopes to finally score a breakthrough result at home.

Monaco Life is produced by multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre