Revealed: The moment Charles Leclerc sensed he could stun McLaren with strategy call

Charles Leclerc celebrates Monza victory.

While tyre struggles for Red Bull almost derailed the plan, Charles Leclerc stuck with his Monza one-stop as clean air presented itself, restoring belief in that ultimately crucial strategy.

It looked as though McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was well on his way to victory at Monza, only for Ferrari and Leclerc to break out a one-stop strategy which swung the race in their favour, Leclerc staying out of reach and driving on to victory, delighting the tifosi.

Clear air restored Charles Leclerc one-stop faith

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper

On a Sunday afternoon where tyre graining proved a huge topic at Monza, Leclerc had begun doubting his pre-race one-stop plan, considering Red Bull on the alternate strategy were struggling even with the hard tyres.

But, once free of Piastri ahead as he peeled into the pits, Leclerc was able to regain that grip and the one-stop was on the table again. He and Ferrari would execute it to devastating effect, that Leclerc’s second win of F1 2024 and Ferrari’s third, as Piastri and McLaren’s Lando Norris completed the podium.

“Before the race, if you would have asked me, the one-stop was definitely the thing I wanted to do,” Leclerc told media including PlanetF1.com.

“After 10 laps, I think we saw that Red Bull started to struggle with the front left on the hard. And there we started to doubt the one-stop. We thought that it would be a lot more difficult because we thought that the hard would be a more difficult tyre to bring to the end.

“However, as soon as I put it, I still thought that this was a possibility. And especially, I think, when Oscar pitted two or three laps after that. I felt like I had more grip not having a car in front, especially on the front tyres, and that’s where I really thought that the one-stop, we could make it work.”

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That was the second time that Leclerc has delivered a home win for Ferrari in front of the tifosi, the first time being in 2019, during his first season with the Scuderia.

And against his expectations, this second triumph proved “just as sweet” as the first.

“Just as sweet as the 2019 one,” he confirmed about this 2024 Italian GP win. “I thought the first one was always going to be more special if there was a second one ever happening, but actually it’s not the case. The second one just feels as special.

“Today I did not expect it going to the race. I thought that we would struggle a bit more compared to the McLaren, but also compared to the Mercedes. That seemed to have a really good pace on Friday.

“However, after a few laps, I saw and I felt the car was in a good place. Oscar maybe was a little bit quicker. It was difficult to see Lando’s pace as he was behind. Then once we got undercut, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe we are losing the win there’.

“But then once both pitted, I actually picked up quite a lot of front grip, having the free air in front. And being the last car, I didn’t have much to lose by trying the one-stop.

“But we did a really, really good job with that front left, which has been very, very tricky for everybody. We had a lot of front graining, but managed to take that front grip again. And that helped us to win today.

“To stand up on that podium in front of all the tifosi after such a week, because it’s a very tiring one… It’s an incredible feeling to be racing for Ferrari in Monza, but it’s also very tiring. And to be able to win here is extremely special.”

Ferrari are now only 39 points behind F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship leaders Red Bull with eight rounds of the season remaining.

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