Coming up behind Verstappen, Leclerc had significantly more pace, given his much newer tire set and his SF26's more corner-focused performance, but the problem remained his straight-line performance: the Red Bull was decidedly excellent, the Ferrari's decidedly poor. And so came Leclerc's first invention: rather than forcing an attack under braking, with Verstappen certainly not the easiest driver to pass under braking, Leclerc avoided overtake and the relative energy on the long back straight. He also closed his wings well before braking, all to conserve as much energy as possible for the sprint to the finish line, where Verstappen would have had fewer resources to defend himself and, more importantly, would not have been able to counterattack immediately. The tactic was risky, but it worked, and Leclerc took the lead over his rival and four-time world champion at the end of lap 47. Now, the problem of the oncoming Piastri, with a McLaren in decidedly good form, stands between him and the podium.
Once Piastri catches up with him, Leclerc quickly realizes that holding off the McLaren until the finish is nearly impossible, as the difference in performance on the straight is too great. He therefore decides to try an all-out tactic to secure the third step of the podium: Leclerc's idea is to let Piastri pass on the penultimate lap and then stay close, allowing him to use overtake (the extra power granted to those following within a second, according to the regulations) and stake his chances on the final lap with this option. So on the back straight, he puts his plan into action, lifting off the accelerator early, closing the gap and letting the Australian's McLaren pass. However, the problem arises in the final meters of the lap: the papaya car has great traction and, once past, leaves Leclerc in the lurch, who watches Piastri's rear end rapidly recede. The Monegasque driver desperately tries to stay close to him so he can launch an attack, since if he gets out of a second's gap, it's all for naught. Exiting Turn 3, he tries to unload some of his remaining power, but overdoes it and ends up losing the rear and crashing. From then on, the final lap becomes an ordeal, with the damaged car practically unable to steer to the right, prompting Leclerc to cut corners in an attempt to somehow reach the finish line. Overall, considering some of the risks he took and the collision with Russell, the penalty doesn't honestly seem particularly excessive.
Not worth saving, but worth understanding.
Seeing everything that happened, it's clear that Leclerc's mistake was his own, and that all of this led to a likely fourth-place finish becoming eighth, with important points lost along the way. As mentioned at the beginning, we're not here to save Leclerc from his faults, but it's hard not to understand the frustration of the driver who, from leading the race, found himself totally unable to defend himself against the competition, except by inventing imaginative tactics that sometimes pay off and sometimes instead turn into serious mistakes.
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