Leclerc confident Imola F1 error will not happen again

The Monegasque driver was pushing hard in the closing stages to try to get past second-placed Sergio Perez at Imola when he was too aggressive over the kerbs at the Variante Alta chicane and was pitched into a spin.

Light contact with the barriers forced a front wing change in the pits, and the time loss meant he came home sixth at the chequered flag.

As a driver who has been hard on himself for making mistakes in the past, Leclerc says the approach will be no different this time – as he is sure the lesson is learned and there will not be repeat troubles.

Asked if this would be another example of his trait of never making the same mistake twice, Leclerc  said: “Yes, but maybe this one is a bit different.

“It's one of those mistakes where it is a bit more the mental approach that you've had at that particular moment of the race.

"But I've always been strong in knowing exactly which particular feeling I felt at what moment of the race, and know how to correct it. So yeah, it's again, a mistake but I'll learn from it and won't do it again.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, changes his front wing after an off

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Although admitting to driver error, Leclerc is adamant the mistake had nothing to do with him cracking under pressure.

“Obviously we've had pressure not only [for the race], but for the whole weekend and I don't think I've done many mistakes before,” he said.

“It was the mistake that cost me a lot and I'll learn from it. But no, on my side, there was no particular added pressure whatsoever.”

While the error did drop him three places, Leclerc is aware that things could have been much worse in terms of the points loss against race winner Max Verstappen.

“With the mistake actually, I have been a bit lucky because I've only lost seven points again to what I could have scored,” he said.

“But it's seven points that could be valuable at the end of the season and every point counts when you're driving for the title. So yeah, it won't happen again.”