Charles’ first pit stop came on lap 20: he did a perfect job in the pits, stopping for just two seconds to fit new Hard tires. The strategy seemed to work, with the Monegasque able to manage the gap on the McLarens and Russell, but the race took a different turn in the second stint. Lewis, still stuck in traffic, was involved in a controversial incident on lap 29: Max Verstappen overtook him at Turn 4, forcing him off the track. The stewards will analyze the incident at the end of the race.
On lap 40, Charles made his second pit stop and another set of new Hard tyres, but something was wrong. From that point on, the pace suddenly dropped, and Leclerc began losing over two seconds per lap. Only after the race did the cause emerge: a chassis issue that completely compromised the final stint, making the car difficult to control. Two laps later, Lewis also made his only pit stop to switch to Medium tyres.
The final part of the race was an uphill battle for both drivers: Charles was passed by Piastri on lap 50 and, despite a tenacious defense, also had to yield to Russell with eight laps to go, finishing in fourth place. Lewis crossed the line in twelfth place, out of the points. A frustrating conclusion for both.
At the end of the race, Leclerc didn’t hide his disappointment: “It’s not the result we were hoping for, but there was nothing we could do to control the situation. It’s frustrating, because I think we could have won today.” Hamilton, for his part, described the weekend as difficult, one to forget, but promised he would return stronger after the summer break.
Team Principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the disappointment of a result that could have been very different. “In the first two stints, everything was fine; we had a margin. Then came the chassis issue. Luckily, we still brought home importan
t points.” Regarding Hamilton’s race, he added: “The Hard tyres penalized him at the start, and he found himself in the worst possible scenario. We chose a one-stop strategy to try to get back up the order, but it didn’t work.”
A weekend that had raised hopes with positive signs in practice and qualifying, but which left a bitter taste in the mouth in the race. The technical problem on Leclerc’s Ferrari will be the subject of detailed analysis, but in the meantime, the summer break comes at the right time to reset and start again.
