Charles Leclerc (Ferrari/5th) is baffled: “Everything went wrong – it’s frustrating”

Charles Leclerc put in a spirited sprint at Zandvoort, and he also put up a strong fight in the Grand Prix: in the first part of the race, he hounded Mercedes driver George Russell until Mercedes brought the Briton into the pits for fresh tyres.

Standings on lap 29: Antonelli, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Lawson, Alonso, Hülkenberg, Sainz.

On lap 34, Leclerc attacked McLaren driver Piastri, on the outside of Turn 1, then on the inside of Turn 2 – and squeezed his way past! The Monegasque driver was now fourth. Hamilton immediately stuck to Piastri like glue in an attempt to overtake him as well. Hamilton overtook Piastri on the outside of Turn 1, meaning Piastri had dropped two places in the space of a single lap.

Then things got heated at Ferrari. Hamilton bluntly demanded that they please let him past Leclerc: “I’m faster than Leclerc, my tyres are better.”

Ferrari wanted to bring Leclerc in to give Hamilton a clear run, but Charles wasn’t having any of it; he stayed out for two laps longer than planned.

Topic of the week

Topic of the week: Aprilia comeback? The truth is: Aprilia never went away!

Four weeks ago, Aprilia headed into the summer break from Germany with a badly injured Marco Bezzecchi. The response came from the heart of British motor racing: ‘Together we are strong!’

Thomas Kuttruf

Read more

TV program

Live

Monza: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

04.09.2026 - 12:15

At one point, Leclerc was the fastest man on the track, and Ferrari’s decision to fit Hamilton and Leclerc with fresh soft tyres during a final VSC phase in the closing stages of the race was the right one. But it wasn’t enough for Hamilton to snatch third place from Russell, nor was it enough for Leclerc to put Hamilton under pressure (which could have been quite entertaining).

So why, ultimately, did Ferrari only manage P5 for Leclerc and P4 for Hamilton? Charles says: “It was a frustrating race because everything went wrong due to factors beyond our control.”

“For example, the virtual safety car period came at a bad time for us. On the positive side, our pace was good. That was a nice overtaking manoeuvre on Piastri, and my tyre management was good.”

And what about Hamilton? Charles: “Well, I was never asked to give up my position. I focused on my pace and tried to do my best in the race. Yes, there was some discussion over the radio – but that was about which lap would probably be best for my pit stop, regardless of Hamilton behind me.”

The nine-time Grand Prix winner’s conclusion: “We had good pace, but we need to do better in qualifying. If we’re further up the grid, we’ll make it onto the podium.”