Ferrari defends double-stack call that left Leclerc stranded in Monaco

Charles Leclerc’s home race at Monaco ended in frustration and retirement on lap 65, and Ferrari deputy team principal Jerome D’Ambrosio has now explained why the team made the strategy call that contributed to the Monegasque’s difficult afternoon.

Leclerc was effectively running second when a five-second penalty applied to team-mate Lewis Hamilton was factored in. However, when the safety car was deployed, Ferrari chose to pit both drivers in a double-stack rather than leave Leclerc out to protect his track position.

“Perhaps it wasn’t 100% optimised for him personally, that last stop,” D’Ambrosio said. “But in hindsight, and we discussed that after, it’s what you have to do as a team. It’s these difficult calls that the frustration clearly for him was that.”

D’Ambrosio argued that leaving Leclerc out carried its own risks. “The risk is that if you wait while the safety car is out, you could also find yourself with the safety car right in front of you, and then you’ve completely lost everything,” he explained. “With the safety car coming in, that neutralised [the five-second penalty], and we had to double-stack them. So it’s unfortunately these things that you don’t have much control over.”

Leclerc’s race ultimately ended when he crashed on lap 65, an incident he attributed to brake problems that had been troubling him throughout the weekend. D’Ambrosio acknowledged the issue is a known one within the team.

“He’s been struggling with the feeling in the braking zone, clearly. He’s been vocal about that,” D’Ambrosio said. “I think now it’s out there, so people know the drivers are running different solutions on that. We need to get back to the factory and look at it in detail and see how we want to move forward.”

D’Ambrosio stressed that resolving the brake feel discrepancy between Leclerc and Hamilton remains a priority. “For us as a team, clearly the important thing is that we support the drivers in getting the right feeling with the car. And so that’s something that we’re going to do in the next few days.”

The Monaco result leaves Ferrari with questions to answer on both the strategic and technical fronts, with Leclerc in particular having now failed to convert his home race into a podium finish once again.