The decisive scene
L17 Leclerc stop and pit-cycle drop
The regret is not a proven bad pit-wall call. It is that Ferrari executed a safe one-stop while McLaren became the direct podium problem. Leclerc started P2, lost that early track position, stopped on L17, fell to P7 in the pit cycle, recovered to P3, and finished only 1.548s behind Piastri. With Leclerc at +0.268s to the reference and excellent tyre wear, Ferrari needed a clearer attack-or-cover plan against McLaren.
Featured decision read: GOOD
Ferrari's call
Ferrari stopped Leclerc on L17 for hard tyres, accepting a temporary drop to P7 before later recovery to the podium.
Why the answer stays bounded
An extension could have handed rivals an undercut if they were close enough, and the supplied data does not include those exact gaps.