Charles Leclerc says he is determined to learn lessons from his mistake at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, having cost himself a near-guaranteed third place as he spun off in the closing stages. Extricating himself from the tyre barriers after the spin, he returned to the pits for a fresh set of tyres and a new front wing, and went on to cross the line in sixth place. Speaking after the race, Leclerc explained the error from his perspective, while vowing to learn from it. Pushing hard on fresh Softs to put pressure on second-placed Sergio Perez, Leclerc said he had been chasing the opportunity that Ferrari had generated by their aggressive strategy.
Leclerc: I know what I've done, and I'll move on
"I saw the opportunity that, before, I didn't think it was there," he told media, including RacingNews365.com . "It was very clear to me that I think third place was what was possible. "But I saw the opportunity, and I still tried it. I went a bit quicker in Turn 14/15, took too much kerb, and spun. "All points count and, today, I've [thrown] away seven points now, against the 15 that we [could have] had if I had finished third." But the Monegasque stayed philosophical about having Max Verstappen cutting the gap between them in the championship from 46 to 27 points in one weekend, and said he had pored over the data from his incident. "Every point is important, so I will learn from this for the future," Leclerc explained. "The way it is now, I've analysed the data, I know what I've done, and I'll move on."
Was Leclerc taking extra risks?
With Leclerc pursuing second place and trying to remain within Drag Reduction System (DRS) range of Perez, the Ferrari driver was asked whether he had taken a risk too great in his attempts to snatch the position away from his Red Bull rival. "I don't think particularly more risk," he said, explaining that he had felt strong through the Variante Alta throughout the entire weekend. "I was quick there and the car felt good there, especially in the race. "I felt like it was probably one of the corners where Checo [Perez] was a bit less competitive than me and obviously, on that lap, I knew that there was an opportunity, so I tried to push a bit more and it was too much. "But, apart from that, I don't think I've taken any unnecessary risk [compared to] other laps during the weekend whatsoever. Everything was OK on that side."
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