Charles Leclerc 'paid the price' for Monza podium hunt

Charles Leclerc has stated he “paid the price” for battling Oscar Piastri in the opening laps of the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc managed to overtake Piastri for third into the first corner, before the championship leader regained the position later in the lap.

The battle between the pair would continue for a handful of laps and after the positions swapped again, Piastri made a definitive move for third place on lap six.

Leclerc had locked up his tyres on a handful of occasions while battling the Australian, placing him on the back foot for the remainder of his stint.

“It’s not been an easy day,” Leclerc said. “The first few laps I tried to fight with Piastri.

“Unfortunately, very quickly I managed to overheat all of my tyres and I paid the price for the 10 laps after.

“I recovered and the pace came back to me, but it was very difficult to manage that and try to gain position, especially when you don’t have the same pace as the guys in front.

“I couldn’t do much more.”

Leclerc entered the Monza weekend looking to defend his sensational victory on Ferrari's home soil from 2024.

But with Ferrari lacking pace for much of the season compared to its rivals, Leclerc conceded there was nothing more it could have done.

“I don’t think there was much more we could have done today and this weekend overall,” he said.

“[On Saturday] we did a good job with my lap in Q3. In the race we did our maximum.

“But Red Bull and McLaren were just too strong.”