Charles Leclerc took out his second straight top five finish at the Emilia Romagne Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, but the Monegasque hinted that a team strategy change could have given him a podium finish.
Ferrari’s recent upgrades are bearing fruit, as Charles Leclerc raced magnificently at Emilia Romagne on Sunday, converting his seventh place start to a fifth place spot.
“Honestly, I’m happy. I don’t think we expected to be fifth today,” Leclerc told Canal +. “We expected a much more difficult race, especially in the first stint with the soft [tyres]. So, I’m pretty happy. Looking back at the race, I think we could have made a better choice with the tires for the second relay.”
A safety car near the race’s end may have given Leclerc the chance for a podium if he had taken the time to make a pit stop, but the strategists told him to hold off. Leclerc finished the race on worn tyres, which may have made the difference to Daniil Kvyat, who used the opportunity to sneak past him into fourth.
“I saw him arrive and, quite honestly, as we were fighting for big points, I gave up. In any case, [Daniil Kvyat] did a huge job and a great overtaking, well done to him,” Leclerc conceded.
Despite hoping for a better finish, this puts Leclerc on a five-race streak for points for his team, something he chalks up to how competitive his recently upgraded car now is.
“I was pretty comfortable,” he said. “We were actually quite competitive during the whole race. We were maybe a tiny bit quicker than Daniil on the hard compound at the beginning [of the second stint] but not by much – not enough to overtake for sure – and then at the restart, I struggled a bit more compared to Daniil, who did a great job, so P5, I’m happy.”
 
Photo source: Twitter-Charles Leclerc