Leclerc praises Ferrari for masterful strategy moves

F1 Grand Prix, GP Italy, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

Having taken an emotional victory on Ferrari's turf home, Charles Leclerc has praised the Scuderia's passionate Tifosi and also his team for opting for an aggressive one-stop strategy.

Ferrari looked strong all through the weekend, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz only qualified fourth and fifth on the grid, having missed the crucial final tenth of a second to be in contention for pole position.

Although Leclerc had a masterful start and executed an ambitious move on McLaren's Lando Norris on the first lap to move himself up into second place, Oscar Piastri looked in control of the victory. But McLaren made the decisive move to call the Australian in for a second stop while Ferrari elected to pursue an aggressive one-stop strategy with both its drivers.

The strategy allowed Leclerc to move into the lead, and the Monegasque managed to nurse his tyres until the end of the 53-lap race to take an emotional victory at the Italian Grand Prix.

"What an incredible feeling. The first time I won in Monza in 2019 was so emotional to both me and to our whole team, I didn’t think that winning here could ever feel like that again, but today, it did.

"Seeing our tifosi celebrating with us is just amazing and I am so glad that we could share this victory for a second time. Monaco and Monza were the two races I have always wanted to win, because they are so special to me.

The Monegasque continued: "A huge thank you to every single person in our team who made this happen today.

"You have done an incredible job to make this dream a reality and we can all be proud to have achieved this together. We had a perfectly executed strategy today and beat our competitors to it, and we will give everything to keep this momentum for the rest of the season, taking any opportunity we have," concluded Leclerc.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz started from fifth on the grid, and managed to move himself up the order by a spot after George Russell ran wide at the Variante del Rettifilo.

Ferrari pursued a offset strategy with the Spaniard, pitting him several laps later than his direct rivals. While an aggressive one-stop strategy allowed Sainz to emerge in P2 in the closing stages of the races, the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris overtook him on much fresher tyres.

"First of all, congratulations to Charles and the entire team, including the people working in Maranello! I'm really happy for all of them and the tifosi, it’s definitely a well deserved win!

"It was a shame I couldn't keep a podium position today. I think staying out and extending the first stint made me lose some race time and the train of tows at the front.

"0From there it was difficult to make up time but the call to commit to a one-stop strategy was the right one and overall we should be happy that the car seems to work better. Let’s see in the upcoming races if we can keep up the good results," said the Spaniard.