Leclerc: Ferrari first lap pitstop drama 'my fault'

Charles Leclerc has admitted that it was his decision that led to Ferrari's first lap pitstop drama at the Dutch Grand Prix.

A heavy rain shower at the end of the first lap in Zandvoort triggered some drivers, including Leclerc and Sergio Perez to dive for the pits to switch to Intermediate tyres.

However, the Ferrari crew was not ready for the Monegasque, who arrived carrying front-wing damage after losing the right-hand end-plate after contact.

Leclerc would ultimately go onto retire at Zandvoort after sustaining a huge amount of damage to the SF-23, but admitted that the slow pitstop was his fault.

Leclerc's admission

"I [made the call for the pitstop] in the last corner, so it was very late," Leclerc told media including RacingNews365.

"Looking at the situation in the last corner, I was sure that even if we lost five or six seconds with the pitstop, we would recover it during one lap easily.

"I expected to lose some time, but I think we could have optimised it better as a team, for the guys to be ready a little bit earlier in those type of situations.

"But apart from that, it was the right choice in conditions like that, but it was very tricky because you are always changing from wet to dry, dry to wet, but it was the same for everybody."