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Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc walked away from the Imola GP with contrasting takeaways. While Hamilton expressed "feeling great" from a breakthrough performance, Leclerc was left to rue strategy setbacks that placed him behind the Briton for the first time this season.
Hamilton and Leclerc made headlines when they both exited Q2 during Saturday's qualifying. The Ferrari duo entered Sunday's race hoping for a strong recovery drive, a feat that they both managed to pull-off, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively. In his best outing for Ferrari till date, Hamilton was aided by a well-timed Virtual Safety Car that rewarded his extended first stint. Leclerc, meanwhile, was hampered by a tire strategy that didn't line up with the safety car phases.
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Despite the setback, the Monegasque ensured damage limitation with a run among the top-five, before getting caught up in a late-race incident with Alex Albon. This opened the door for Hamilton to gain momentum and pass him for fourth in the pecking order. To make matters worse, the Ferrari pitwall instructed Leclerc to concede his position to Albon to avoid a penalty, leaving him with a sixth place finish.
Talking to the media post-race, Hamilton reflected on the race as one of his most rewarding in recent memory.
"I would say for me, I don’t remember the last time I had a race like that where you’re moving forwards. I’m sure there was one maybe last year, but this one’s different obviously because I’m in the red car and I haven’t done that yet, so to finally have that connection, that synergy with the car today and progressing was a really great feeling, ” he said via Formula1.com.
On the other hand, Leclerc lamented an outing marked by missed opportunities.
"I was very frustrated with the Safety Car, especially because the first one was in completely the wrong place for my strategy, [then] the second one was horrible because I couldn’t take it because I had no tyres left, so it was just a frustrating day," Leclerc said.
The result moved Lewis Hamilton up to sixth in the drivers' championship, one spot behind his teammate. Kimi Antonelli, who'd previously ranked ahead of the Briton, yielded his spot after retiring from the race.
Charles Leclerc speaks out on Ferrari with a sarcastic comment involving Lewis Hamilton
Charles Leclerc took a shot at Ferrari over their questionable tactics during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. When Kimi Antonelli's car brought out a full safety car period, the Ferrari frontman asked to pit, but was blocked by Lewis Hamilton's entry into the pitlane. Not wanting to lose time behind the Brit, Leclerc took another lap, which ultimately fell short of the pit window, leaving him with 14-lap-old hard tires.
Unimpressed by the strategy mixup, Leclerc let out a sarcastic comment over the team radio, stating,
"Yeah yeah, I think we can win the race with Lewis [Hamilton]. (1:47)
The resulting tire advantage allowed Lewis Hamilton to overtake Leclerc in the final stages, while the Monegasque was left vulnerable to a charging Alex Albon. Hamilton ended up finishing 1.4 seconds behind the championship leader, Oscar Piastri.
