Championship leader Leclerc promises to learn from Imola mistakes

With the race in its final laps, the Ferrari driver fell behind Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, and in a bid to catch Perez, who was closer to him, he ended up making an error which led to him spinning out of control.

  Although the car was fine and there was no accident, Leclerc slipped as low as the ninth position but eventually fought back to finish in sixth, his first finish outside the podium this season. 

Speaking after the race, the Ferrari driver denied that he was distracted by the pressure to finish first when he made the error which cost him a podium finish. 

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

"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. Again it is a mistake, but I'll learn from it and won't do it again," he said.

The Monegasque driver admitted that his finish at Imola could have been much worse but accepted that every point remains important in the fight for the Championship. 

"With the mistake actually, I have been a bit lucky because I've only lost seven points again to what I could have scored. It is 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," Leclerc said.

Leclerc still leads the Championship standings with 86 points from the opening four races. He and Ferrari will be looking to extend their lead when F1 returns next week for the Miami Grand Prix.