08/09/2025 10:10
Charles Leclerc has stated he "paid the price" for battling Oscar
Piastri in the opening laps of the Italian Grand Prix. Leclerc
managed to overtake Piastri for third into the first corner, before
the championship leader regained the position later in the lap. The
battle between the pair would continue for a handful of laps and
after the positions swapped again, Piastri made a definitive move
for third place on lap six. Leclerc had locked up his tyres on a
handful of occasions while battling the Australian, placing him on
the back foot for the remainder of his stint. "It's not been an
easy day," Leclerc said. "The first few laps I tried to fight with
Piastri. "Unfortunately, very quickly I managed to overheat all of
my tyres and I paid the price for the 10 laps after. "I recovered
and the pace came back to me, but it was very difficult to manage
that and try to gain position, especially when you don't have the
same pace as the guys in front. "I couldn't do much more." Leclerc
entered the Monza weekend looking to defend his sensational victory
on Ferrari's home soil from 2024. But with Ferrari lacking pace for
much of the season compared to its rivals, Leclerc conceded there
was nothing more it could have done. "I don't think there was much
more we could have done today and this weekend overall," he said.
"[On Saturday] we did a good job with my lap in Q3. In the race we
did our maximum. "But Red Bull and McLaren were just too strong."
