Leclerc's podium finish raises spirits at Ferrari ahead of Monza Grand Prix

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