BAD PIT-STOP CALL BY FERRARI: BUTTON

LONDON • Ferrari's team strategy has been questioned after Sunday's British Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc was left feeling disappointed.

The Monegasque, 24, had a race to forget as the Formula One championship contender saw victory fumbled away on strategy.

The championship leader after three races, Leclerc has seen his challenge derailed by a string of poor results, some of them self-inflicted wounds, like at Silverstone.

Leading with 12 laps to go, he finished an unhappy fourth after a strategy call cost him victory. He stayed out during a late safety car and then had to defend against teammate and race winner Carlos Sainz and Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who were called in for fresh tyres.

With Sainz running away from the pack for a first career victory in 150 races, Leclerc was left to battle for second with Perez and Mercedes home favourite Lewis Hamilton, who finished third.

"I don't know yet," said Leclerc when asked why he wasn't brought in ahead of Sainz.

"It was obviously very late (the call) and they made the decision to stay, said 'stay out', so I cannot come in obviously if we are aligned and that was it... The disappointment is real for me today."

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto, who was involved in a finger-wagging conversation with Leclerc after the race, defended the team's decisions saying there was "no way" for Leclerc to win the grand prix after the safety car.

He told ESPN: "Obviously with hindsight it's easy to say we could have done differently. Again, we have a safety car at the wrong moment when we are leading the race comfortably."

If there was any consolation for Leclerc it was that it was a no less disappointing afternoon for Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen, who had car issues of his own and finished seventh.

But even Red Bull boss Christian Horner seemed to question Ferrari's calls, saying: "Everybody's different aren't they? Every team is different. I suppose that the call I understood least was not to pit both their cars, or certainly Charles, for the soft tyre (at the safety car)."

After 10 of 22 races, Verstappen tops the standings on 181 points, 34 ahead of teammate Perez and 43 clear of Leclerc.

Former F1 champion Jenson Button was adamant Ferrari had cost Leclerc the win, telling Sky Sports: "The bad pit-stop call at the end there with the safety car, it's happened again, there's the same thing in Monaco. I don't know whose decision it was but obviously that cost him the victory."

Leclerc has seen his title challenge fade with a string of Ferrari failures. After taking pole at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix early last month, his race ended in the pits with a smoking engine.

A week later at the Canadian Grand Prix, he was forced to start from the back of the grid after engine penalties, battling back for an inspired fifth place.

But the team's June struggles have followed Leclerc into July, something he hopes to finally turn around next week in Austria.

"It (team mistakes) is costing a lot of points but," said Leclerc, not finishing his thought as he walked away back to the Ferrari hospitality suite.

REUTERS