Charles Leclerc blamed being “too greedy” for the costly spin at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
In a race-long battle with Sergio Perez for second place, the Monegasque lost control over the kerbs at the Variante Alta as he tried to chase the Red Bull following a switch to soft tyres.
A small hit with the tyre barriers required a new front wing, dropping Leclerc to P9 before he recovered to finish P6, his worst result of the season so far.
“It is a big shame,” he told Sky Sports.
A podium finish slides away from Charles Leclerc ?#ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Y55Wplnb3V
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2022
“I believe the spin shouldn’t have happened today. P3 was the best I could do. We didn’t have the pace for much more and I was too greedy.
“I paid the price for it and lost seven potential points compared to the third place I was before. It’s seven points that are very valuable at the end of the championship for sure and this shouldn’t happen again.”
With thousands of Tifosi in attendance at Imola, Leclerc was asked if the error was a sign of pressure impacting him for the first time this season.
“No, it wasn’t,” he quickly replied. “That’s what I think at least.
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“Obviously we’ve had pressure not only today but for the whole weekend. I don’t think I’ve done many mistakes before today, it was the mistake that cost me a lot.
“I’ll learn from it. But no, from my side there was no particular added pressure whatsoever.”
Imola though did seem to mark a turning point in momentum as Max Verstappen scored maximum points and Red Bull had the edge in all conditions.
“Only time will tell how much of a step they did, but for sure they seemed to be more competitive than the first three races, or similar to Jeddah let’s say,” Leclerc noted.
“We had the upper hand in Bahrain and Australia and they had the upper hand this week and in Jeddah, so it’s very close and I think it will be that way for the rest of the season.
“That is why every small mistake…it’s a big mistake but the consequence could have been much bigger. It’s only seven points today but it could cost more the next time, so I need to be careful.”
