Charles Leclerc: “Our expectations for this track were not very high”

It wasn’t the perfect Italian Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari, as Max Verstappen won another Grand Prix with the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the business end of the season.

Charles Leclerc finished second place on the podium, but the Tifosi would have hoped for so much better with the fan favourite starting on pole position after a storming lap on Saturday. Carlos Sainz Jr. took engine penalties, which meant he started eighteenth on the grid and he had an action packed afternoon, making twenty overtaking moves in total as he limited the damage of the penalties finishing fourth.

Leclerc wanted to win the race but acknowledged that they weren’t sure on how they would cope at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

“Monza is always incredible. Starting from pole, I did want to take the win. However, that’s not how it went today. Seeing our tifosi under the podium made it a lot better.

“Our pace was good and we have to keep in mind that our expectations for this track were not very high.

“We worked a lot throughout the practice sessions to secure pole, which was a nice surprise. 

We have made some positive progress and were more competitive this weekend, so I am looking forward to be back racing in Singapore.“

Carlos Sainz Jr: “I’m happy with the performance and the comeback”

Sainz was pleased with his comeback rising from eighteenth to fourth after receiving earlier grid penalties. The Spaniard could have caught George Russell for a podium position, but that challenge was cut short after McLaren F1 Team‘s Daniel Ricciardo stopped on track and brought out the Safety Car, which the race finished under.

“A good race! I felt comfortable right from the start, overtaking cars nearly every lap and climbing to P4 very early on.

“After pitting for the Soft tyre I was closing the gap to Russell quickly and I would have had a chance to battle with him for P3 at the end. Even when the Safety Car came out, I would have had a great opportunity at the restart with my new set of Softs, but unfortunately the race finished as it did and neither scenario happened.

“I’m happy with the performance and the comeback, but looking at our pace I was hoping to be on the podium in front of all the tifosi. Thanks to everyone for such great support today. We will continue to push until the end of the year!“

Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office