Charles Leclerc and Ferrari found themselves facing yet another embarrassing moment when the Monegasque driver came in for a pit stop with his crew not ready in Zandvoort on Sunday. However, during the post-race analysis by F1 TV, ex-McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne revealed Leclerc called his own pit stop, which caught his team off guard.
The botched pit stop could have led to drastic consequences for the Ferrari driver. Had things gone differently, Leclerc could have seen himself finishing in the bottom places on the grid, which could have further damaged Ferrari’s image in front of their fans.
However, Leclerc managed to pull through after a slow pit stop, but not before registering yet another ‘typical’ Ferrari move.
Charles Leclerc called his own pit stop in Zandvoort
Discussing Ferrari’s antics in the post-race show, Vandoorne addressed the Ferrari pitstop with an ‘unready’ crew waiting for their driver. The ex-Mclaren driver called it a difficult day for Leclerc, whose day kept going from bad to worse with each lap.
“I don’t know exactly what happened with all the radio communication, but it seems like Charles called his own pitstop. And the team told him to stay out, but Charles still committed to come into the box, and that’s probably triggered all the carnage with the tires not being ready.”
Looking back, the analysts called Leclerc’s decision to be a wise one given the conditions of the race. However, it amounted to nothing because of what followed.
Leclerc had to retire because of floor damage to his car
Ferrari had to retire Leclerc’s car after it sustained consistent floor damage. Having initially damaged his car’s front wing, the 25-year-old pitted to change his car’s front wing. The rest of the race wasn’t much better for him as he continued sustaining damage to the floor of his car. The Monegasque driver believes the origin of the damage to be his collision with Oscar Piastri during the race. With Leclerc out, Ferrari’s only hope of winning some points lay with Sainz, who ended the race in P5.
Lap 2/72: @Charles_Leclerc pits for inters as the rain starts to fall!#DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/6hLYApytV3
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 27, 2023
After a troublesome weekend in Zandvoort, Ferrari will now hope to have a much better time in Italy next week. With the F1 headed to Monza, Ferrari will be desperate to have a good home race with favorable conditions.
In the end, the race once again was all about Max Verstappen, who won his ninth consecutive Grand Prix. Heading to Monza, the Dutchman will yet again be the favorite to win and become the undisputed record holder for most consecutive GP wins.
