Emerson Fittipaldi: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz 'tried too hard' at Imola GP

Former Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi has offered his thoughts on Ferrari’s weekend at Imola and has suggested that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were just trying too hard to deliver success in front of the Tifosi.

The Scuderia have had a brilliant start to the season and their fans would have naturally been hoping that they would take victory at one of their home Grands Prix of the season at Imola.

However, Red Bull and Max Verstappen had other ideas with the Dutchman taking pole position, victory in Sprint and then the win in the Grand Prix itself over the weekend.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, finished sixth and out of the race thanks to a spin and a tap from Daniel Ricciardo respectively, and that naturally disappointed fans of the famous red team.

For Fittipaldi, the two drivers were just trying too hard, as he explained to Vegas Insider.

“They’re (Ferrari) racing at home. If you think, Modena is half an hour from there. That’s their home track. Italy, tremendous pressure – on the team, on the mechanics, the engineers, the team managers, the drivers. I can imagine that Ferrari was under what I call tremendous pressure for racing. Incredible.

“Everybody expected them to win – another extra pressure. Not just being there on their home but everybody expecting them to win created that extra pressure.

“I think Carlos (Sainz) tried too hard and (Charles) Leclerc tried too hard.

“I think it was a mistake (Leclerc spinning) that anybody can do but being in Imola, being in Italy, being in the Ferrari team everybody, you know, makes a big thing about.

“If it was another track, same situation, another country, it was not going to be as big, the reaction of the media, the press, the team and the