On Sunday, Charles Leclerc finished the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in 6th place. The Ferrari driver lamented racing circumstances that did not favor him.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 6th), speaking to Canal+: “It’s frustrating because we had a generally good race. Unfortunately, the two safety cars came at the worst possible time for us. On the second one, I didn’t have many tires left, only soft ones, and Lewis (Hamilton) decided to pit at the last moment, so I didn’t know how many places I would lose with a double pit stop behind him. So we didn’t stop. But it’s disappointing. At the beginning, I thought everything was going in the right direction, with a good pace and performance, but we lacked luck.”
(On his battle with Alexander Albon) Apparently I am under investigation, so the team told me to let Alex (Albon) pass. I didn’t think there was a problem. I don’t leave much room but the rules are written in a certain way and we use them to the fullest. We’ve seen this several times and often we don’t get penalized.”
Max Verstappen won at Imola, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls, 9th), speaking to Canal+: “We struggled at the start, but I roughly know what didn’t work. The pace was good, the one-stop strategy was smart and we extended the first stint. Of course, we shouldn’t have fought with the cars that were much faster so as not to lose time. I think we could have secured a 7th place.”
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(On his second pit stop) “The team told me to come in. I didn’t have the overall picture of the race so I couldn’t do what I wanted. But we didn’t gain anything by stopping and I would have liked to see what would have happened if we had stayed on track.”
“With our strategy, those who were on a single stop would have been in trouble at the end of the race and we thought we could capitalize on that, but the second safety car gave them a free stop and did not work in our favor.”
Pierre Gasly (Alpine, 13th), speaking to Canal+:
(On his duel with Leclerc) “I pushed a bit too hard, it’s a fight. I wanted to leave a bit of room on the inside but I was off the racing line. I thought it would hold but when I turned, it didn’t turn at all. There’s not necessarily more to say. A lot happened. We managed to take advantage of the first safety car. With our strategy, those who were on a single stop would have been in trouble at the end of the race and we thought we could capitalize on that, but the second safety car gave them a free stop and did not work in our favor. I’m not very happy with my race with this mistake. We struggled more than we expected.”
Esteban Ocon (Haas, DNF), speaking to Canal+:
(On his retirement) “From what my engineer (Laura Müller) told me on the radio, it’s an air consumption problem. So it’s something to do with the engine. We end the weekend on this note. It was a tough weekend. We will turn the page and come back stronger in Monaco.
(On his first lap pit stop) “It was the strategy, we wanted to try something different. I had a good start, gained some places, which was very good. We were well placed until we encountered a strange degradation (of the tires).”
