Leclerc: Luckily there was a Safety Car

Leclerc would do well to send a thank-you note to Red Bull Racing's pitwall crew, who decided to put Max Verstappen on Hard tyres when the Safety Car was deployed after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli broke down.

Joking aside, Ferrari's decision not to run Leclerc a second time in Q3 in qualifying, thus saving one extra set of Soft tyres paid dividends come race day despite starting lower in the grid, something a strong start negated, but the Monegasque insisted there were still some limitations with his SF-25.

"The first stint was super strong because we had a tyre we didn't use yesterday," he said. "It was basically a new tyre that we didn't use in Q3 and that was a game-changer.

"The second medium was worse than what was expected. I think P4 would have been possible. Luckily there was a Safety Car at the end. In Imola we were on the unlucky side of things, today was the lucky side.

"I know the limitations," Leclerc then added. "For whatever reason we need to understand why that changed massively from the first stint to the last stint.

"The limitations were a lot more difficult to manage in the last stint. We need to understand why but I've got an explanation for it.

"I'm pretty sure I know where it's coming from. It's not something I expected. It's new from this weekend," Leclerc concluded.

Was he hinting at the stiffer Ferrari front wing had to use in Barcelona as a response to the latest FIA technical directive clamping down on flexible front wings?

In the other Ferrari, seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, having to swallow a bitter pill with Nico Hulkenberg passing him for fifth in a Sauber.

"Just not a great day," Hamilton said. "Strategy was good. Team did a great job. Just that's it. I've had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day. There's nothing else to add to it.

"It was terrible. There's no point explaining it. It's not your fault. I just don't know what to say," Hamilton lamented.

And when asked if Ferrari can find answers, he responded: "I'm sure they won't..."

(Quotes from Sky Sports F1)