Leclerc had big disadvantage in Imola: 'That wasn’t of use to him'

Charles Leclerc was very disappointed with the result after the Imola Grand Prix. The Monegasque had third place in his hands, but through his own mistake he lost a number of positions. In the media he received a lot of criticism, although Ferrari apparently failed in other ways as well.

The battle between Ferrari and Red Bull Racing continued in full glory in Italy last weekend. This time Max Verstappen managed to emerge victorious, while Sergio Perez managed to keep Leclerc behind him.

Criticism of engine from Ferrari

At Ferrari they had the feeling that there was more in it. For example, team boss Mattia Binotto previously let it be known that Ferrari's mediocre pit stop was one of the reasons that the Italian racing team fell short. According to Hughes however, there were other areas where things went wrong.

"Even as Leclerc got a slipstream on Perez, the Red Bull was always fast enough to stay ahead," Hughes writes on The Race, pointing to Ferrari's engine. "This is just part of the respective power unit design choices made. It enables Leclerc to have advantages out of the corners, but that wasn’t of use to him in these particular circumstances."