Leclerc reveals gamble on late Monaco pit stop "miracle"

Charles Leclerc revealed that Ferrari had pinned hopes on a Safety Car opportunity after wet weather hit the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.

With rain impacting the Monaco Grand Prix, drivers gradually made the switch to Intermediate tyres as grip levels deteriorated.

However, Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were two of the last drivers to make the change from slick tyres, which cost them positions to the two Mercedes cars.

Leclerc finished his home race for only the second time in his Formula 1 career, but could only manage a sixth place, with teammate Sainz down in P8 after an error in the wet conditions.

With Ferrari often criticised for their strategy decisions over the last couple of seasons, the late Monaco pit stops have done little to improve their reputation.

However, Leclerc backed the decision to pit later than most, and admitted that he was hoping for a 'cheap' pit stop under the Safety Car.

"Honestly, it was a choice, and then you can always argue about whether it was the right choice or not whenever there's rain coming like this," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"There were quite a few cars still on slick tyres, so the chances of a Safety Car are really, really high, and I didn't want to be the first one to bail [to the pits], because I just wanted to wait for a Safety Car, but it didn't arrive.

"So at the end we finished sixth and there wasn't any miracles today."