Mess Ferrari Leclerc thus loses the Grand Prix and world record

Blunder at the tire change. Vince Perez, Verstappen leader The Monegasque: “I love the Red, but mistakes like this are absurd”

monte carlo (principality of monaco)

The rain, the safety car, Schumi jr’s terrifying accident, the timed race. Sergio Perez’s number 11 comes out on the Montecarlo roulette wheel, Checo for all colleagues and rivals who applaud the Mexican for the first time on the streets of Monaco. But the day remains in the annals of this world championship for the Ferrari mess that cost Charles Leclerc his head, making him furious via radio while he was still racing on the track, and then even cold, after crossing the finish line from fourth. “I have no words: I love this team but we can’t afford such a thing.” The fact is that it is not so much the victory of the other Red Bull or the taboo of the home GP that is still out of hand to burn the Monegasque driver of the Rossa: there is the third place of Max Verstappen, who in spite of of the rival’s superior race pace did nothing but exploit the mistake, move forward, then keep the position until the finish line. Extending the overall standings of the World Championship up to +9 on the Ferrari driver.

The key episode took place on lap 22 of a race that started more than an hour late due to rain and then finished with a shortened time, within two hours, ie without completing all 77 laps. The wet asphalt had put the teams under pressure to use tires, one eye on the tightness of the asphalt of the Principality’s roads and another on the weather forecast. The start with the two Ferrrari on pole had been frozen by the weather conditions, and by the safety lap, and Leclerc took off, taking the lead up to 6 ”over his pursuers. The times of Gasly, the only one to use intermediate tires, gradually pushed all the teams to abandon the first choice of wet tires. Leclerc made the change on lap 19 like Verstappen, managing to return from the pits always ahead of the Dutchman, but in third position behind Perez and Sainz. Then after only three laps, another call from the wall, to put on hard tires: «Why, why, what are you doing …», the shout of Leclerc in the radio team. And in fact on lap 23 Verstappen was in front, reversing the positions that between red flags and the impossibility of overtaking remained unchanged until the end of the race.

Now in Ferrari it will be necessary to understand who and why he made a mistake in calling Leclerc’s second stop, except to tell him that he was not needed when it was too late and his Red was already in the pit lane.

“We made a mistake, maybe two”: Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto admits after the tire change mess that probably cost Charles Leclerc the victory. «It was a mistake to stop him, we had to leave him on the track to defend the leadership and then go directly to the stick tires», Binotto explained, «these are errors that we will analyze and that will make us grow. These are events that can happen, if they allow us to become stronger as well as they do ». “Having said that, if Latifi doesn’t block Sainz for half a lap and steps aside, Carlos wins the race,” added the main theme. –