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Fernando Alonso found Ferrari's strategy to pit Charles Leclerc on the final lap of the Belgian GP strange. The Spaniard was amused by his former team’s strategy and took a swipe at them when he spoke to the media after the race.
Asked about Ferrari pitting Leclerc on the final lap, Alonso said:
“Yeah, I was surprised. But Ferrari always do some strange strategies. So that was one of those.”
The two-time world champion was never able to win championships with the Prancing Horse. Watching Leclerc being pitted on the final lap surprised Alonso and he felt the Maranello outfit has always been odd with its strategy choices. Although he was surprised by Ferrari, he was happy to gain a position when the Monegasque driver was penalized for speeding in the pit lane.
Highlighting the final lap of the race as a delight, Alonso said:
“The most fun moment was to see Charles' penalty. I gained one position for free post-race. I didn't expect it. We managed many things on the car and making sure it was fine.”
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc reveals a tear-off ruined his opening laps of the race
Charles Leclerc believes it was a tear-off stuck in his brake duct on the opening lap of the race that made his brakes overheat. After the race, Max Verstappen admitted throwing out one of his tear-offs after the first lap of the race due to the dust kicked up by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s clash. Although it remains to be confirmed that it could have been the Dutchman’s tear-off, Leclerc’s final pitstop and the penalty still cost him fifth place.
In a post on social media after the race, the Ferrari driver said:
"P9 in Lap 1 then tear-off in the brakes that causes front right brake overheating, have to stop to take the tear-off off the brakes, come back to P5, took a five-second penalty for being too quick in pit lane because of a burnt sensor caused by the first issue. Beautiful day.”
The latest result has led to Red Bull increasing their lead over the Maranello outfit to 118 points in the constructor’s championship. Verstappen leads Leclerc by 98 points in the driver's championship. The Monegasque title contender is also trailed by teammate Carlos Sainz by 15 points, making it more difficult for his team to prioritize him in the future.
