Leclerc delighted with Ferrari strategy in Japan

SUZUKA, Japan : Charles Leclerc said he was pleased with Ferrari's execution of their one-stop strategy after finishing fourth at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday but conceded he had left himself with too much to do after struggling in qualifying.

Leclerc, who started eighth, completed 27 laps on a set of medium tyres before switching to hards and defending tenaciously to hold off McLaren's Lando Norris.

The Monegasque driver was eventually passed by team mate Carlos Sainz, who finished third behind the Red Bull 1-2 of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Despite being voted Driver of the Day, Leclerc dropped down to third in the driver's standings with 59 points, four ahead of team mate Sainz.

Verstappen leads the title race on 77 points ahead of his team mate Perez on 64.

"We did an amazing strategy, amazing time management, amazing pace, but it's just not enough when you're starting from eighth," Leclerc told Sky Sports.

"It's not very often in my career that I had to focus on qualifying days because this normally is one of my strengths. But Australia and here, this is where I've been struggling so I'll focus on that.

"But normally when I work on something I get better quite quickly, so I'm confident."

Team boss Frederic Vasseur said Ferrari had done well to bounce back from their disappointing showing in the final practice session and qualifying.

"We had a very strong Sunday with a good strategy and we were able to come back and if we want to do a better weekend, we'll have to improve the Saturdays," Vasseur added.

"We made a good step with the car during the winter, even the last part of last year, but everybody's much more confident in the team, much more calm and we are doing a good job together."

Sainz once again delivered