Whenever Ferrari is in contention for the title or even a victory in Formula 1, the Italian press gets all worked up and presents us with some analyses bordering on the absurd.

This time, Carlos Sainz was blamed for Leclerc's loss of the victory in Monaco, thanks to the Spaniard's "selfishness" in making his own strategy, wrote journalist Giorgio Terruzzi.

Carlos Sainz finished the Monaco GP in P2 behind Sergio Perez, while pole Charles Leclerc finished in P4.

For Terruzzi, it was Sainz's fault that Leclerc didn't win or at least get a podium finish in Monaco.

Terruzzi believes that Sainz put the Scuderia in a difficult position by staying on track longer to change his rain tires for slicks without going through the intermediate tire, as this made Ferrari not know what to do later with Leclerc.

The fact that the Spaniard didn't get the win, in Terruzzi's eyes, exacerbates what was already a selfish move.

"Sainz decided the strategy on his own," he wrote in the print version of the in Italy.

"These are choices on which the drivers' feelings weigh heavily. The fact is that Carlos shouldn't race to win, but to protect Leclerc."

"He smelled the opportunity he had always hoped for, he wanted to dare, he felt he should have won."

"Instead, his move put everyone in a situation where tactics are decided, without even bringing home the consolation of seeing Ferrari's second driver on the top step of the podium."

"So it was a misinterpretation of the driver. Not so much on the tires, but on his role at Ferrari, in a season that is entirely on Leclerc's shoulders."

The Italian acknowledges that the strategic errors made by Ferrari "would have made a sloth lose his nerves," but he still puts the fact that Leclerc finished in P4, while Sainz missed the win.

"Carlos was not very useful for Ferrari, as he finished in P2. But behind Perez, it's not exactly a strategic masterpiece. And he was the one who decided his strategy," he added.

Sainz's 18 points at the Principality put him just one point behind Mercedes' George Russell in the battle for P4 in the Drivers' Championship, while Leclerc is now nine points behind leader Verstappen.

Perez's win means he is now 15 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen.