Leclerc's podium raises spirits ahead of Ferrari's home race at Monza

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Ferrari had an unexpected boost at the Dutch Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc's hard-earned podium finish cheered the out-of-form Italian team ahead of its home race in Formula 1.

Leclerc was sixth on the grid Sunday but overtook Red Bull's Sergio Perez at the start before also getting ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the on-form McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Leclerc kept Piastri behind him to hold on for third, while his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. surged from 10th on the grid to finish fifth.

Not bad for a team which Leclerc said was targeting sixth place in a “damage limitation” exercise before planned car upgrades at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next week. It's a well-timed morale boost for a team which started 2024 fighting for wins but had dropped out of contention.

“Very, very surprised. I’m not very often happy with a P3 but I think with today’s race we can be extremely happy with the job we’ve done on a difficult weekend for the team," Leclerc said.

"We’d been struggling from Friday until the race. In the race we found some more pace, executed a perfect strategy ... So a really strong race for the team and really happy to start the second half (of the season) like this.”

Ferrari started the season as Red Bull's closest challenger — even if it wasn't especially close — but has lost ground to McLaren and Mercedes over the last three months.

In the six races since Leclerc took Ferrari's second win of the season at Monaco in May, Ferrari has been on the podium a total of three times. Meanwhile, the resurgent McLaren and Mercedes have been winning races and putting Red Bull under pressure.

Wins for Lewis Hamilton at the British and Belgian races called into question whether the seven-time champion was really making the right decision by switching from Mercedes to Ferrari for next season. Hamilton will partner Leclerc at Ferrari as Sainz moves to Williams.

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