Leclerc paid for costly mistakes - Binotto

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto believes Charles Leclerc "paid for some mistakes" that cost him a deserved podium from the Turkish Grand Prix.

Although Binotto praised Leclerc for being “fast and fantastic” across the weekend at a treacherous Istanbul Park, the errors prevented the Monégasque from delivering an even better result than his fourth-place finish.

After a slow start which saw him drop to 16th at one stage, Leclerc then mastered the drying conditions to fight back, only to miss out on a podium when he slid wide during a last-lap battle with Sergio Perez for second.

Binotto said: “Charles did a fantastic job recovering. I think he drove very well, he was very fast, but somehow he paid for some mistakes, at the start and when driving and the very last corner as well.

“He drove very fast. Without the mistakes he made he could have hoped for a better final position.”

After qualifying in a lowly 14th, and starting from 12th due to penalties for others, the slow start was negated by good strategy calls that included Leclerc being the first to switch to intermediates and the first to test a fresh second set.

Leclerc's ability to make the most of both those moments pushed him up through the field, only to be passed by team-mate Sebastian Vettel for the podium spot in the closing corners.

While the French driver has out-performed Vettel for most of the season, collecting 64 more points than the German in the 14 races so far, Binotto says he is still learning and the last-lap mistake will help him in the long run.

“Overall it was a useful race for him,” added Binotto. “He is very fast, he is a fantastic driver [and] I think when you review the entire weekend and the race he will learn for the future.”

Analysing his last-lap error, Leclerc said: “Looking back at the data, I didn’t do anything crazy.

“[It was the] same braking point, same pressure, but it was wetter on the inside. It was completely my mistake and I should have anticipated that.”

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