Charles Leclerc said he was pleased with Ferrari's execution of its 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 tires before switching to hards and defending tenaciously to hold off McLaren's Lando Norris.
The Monaco native was eventually passed by teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished third behind the Red Bull 1-2 of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.