The Dutch GP was yet another race weekend to forget for Ferrari. Right from the practice sessions to qualifying to the race on Sunday, it was just distress, setbacks, and some more negative adjectives. Once again, it was Charles Leclerc who fans sympathized with while pouring scorn on the decision-making by the Maranello stable. However, this time, everybody seems to have got it all wrong as onboard footage from Leclerc’s SF-23 has shown that it was in fact, his mistake that cost him.

Droplets of water started to fall from the skies right as the formation lap got underway. By the time Lap 1 got over, the droplets had disappeared to make way for streams of downpour. While the race leader carried on with his slicks for the 2nd round around Zandvoort, a few came in for the Inters right away. One of those was Charles Leclerc. While the other pitters went back out after a regular pit stop, Ferrari took ages to send the Monegasque back out. And they got all the flak for that from fans. Turns out, it was not their mistake at all.

Leclerc, for the very first time in ages, took the initiative to force his insights from firsthand experience on the track. Instead of waiting and discussing possible strategies with his engineer, he assertively told the team that he was boxing for Inters. Unfortunately, he was right at the pit entry when he conveyed his plan. By the time Ferrari realized this, he was already by the Red Bull garage. When he eventually braked on his mark, the mechanics were left scrambling to get the right tires set out.

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This last-second call by Leclerc made his mechanics look like unprepared idiots. However, he did not let them be seen that way in the eyes of everyone.

To get a clean chit, Charles Leclerc clarifies his reasoning behind the late pit stop call

It was a very rather short race for Charles Leclerc. After sustaining some damage to the front wing and the side of his car, the driveability took a nosedive. He kept losing positions and eventually retired in Lap 42 of the Dutch GP. Despite this, the botched 1st pit stop was the main highlight of his forgettable outing. But the good thing was that he owned up for the decision he made.

“Yeah, I did call for it in the last corner, so very late,” Leclerc acknowledged after his retirement. “But, obviously, looking at the situation in the last corner, I was sure that, even if we had lost five or six seconds at the pitstop, we would have recovered them during one lap, easily. So I expected to lose some time. I think we will optimize it as a team, just for the guys to be ready a little bit earlier in those types of situation. But, apart from that, I think the right choice.”

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Ferrari can’t seem to catch a break. Whatever they do turns out to be the wrong decision. The team that all drivers aspired to be at has become the poster boy for catastrophe.