ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Ferrari enjoyed an unexpected boost at the Dutch Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc’s hard-fought podium finish lifted the out-of-form Italian team ahead of its home race in formula 1.

Leclerc was sixth on the grid on Sunday but overtook Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at the start before also overtaking Mercedes’ George Russell and Oscar Piastri’s in-form McLaren. Leclerc kept Piastri behind him to hold on to third, while his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. moved up from tenth on the grid to fifth.

Not bad for a team that Leclerc said was targeting sixth place in a “damage limitation exercise” ahead of car upgrades planned for next week’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It’s a timely morale boost for a team that was battling for wins in 2024 but was eliminated from the race.

“Very, very surprised. I’m not often happy with third place, but I think that after today’s race we can be extremely satisfied with the performance we delivered for the team in a difficult weekend,” said Leclerc.

“We had problems from Friday until the race. In the race we found a bit more pace and implemented a perfect strategy… So a really strong race for the team and we are really happy to start the second half (of the season) like this.”

Ferrari started the season as Red Bull’s biggest rival – even if it was not particularly close – but has lost ground to McLaren and Mercedes over the last three months.

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

Lewis Hamilton’s victories in the races in Great Britain and Belgium raised the question of whether the seven-time champion had really made the right decision by moving from Mercedes to Ferrari for next season. Hamilton will compete at Ferrari as Leclerc’s partner. Sainz moves to Williams.

___

AP Car Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing