Nico Rosberg criticises Ferrari over Charles Leclerc pitstop at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Leclerc spun out while hunting down Perez in second place and ended up having to settle for sixth after pitting late on in Italy

Ferrari pitted Leclerc when he damaged his front wing after lightly hitting the wall (Getty Images)

Ferrari should not have pitted Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, says former world champion Nico Rosberg.

The Monegasque driver was hunting down Sergio Perez in second place heading into the final 10 laps of the Italian race, before he caught too much of a curb and spun into the wall.

Fortunately, there was minimal damage to Leclerc’s car but Ferrari still decided to pit him straight away and replace his front wing.

Leclerc was then forced to recover several places in the final few laps as he ended up finishing a disappointing sixth.

And Rosberg feels his team made the wrong call by pitting him and insists they should have waited to see whether the damaged front wing could have made it to the end of the race.

Speaking on Sky Sports, the German was honest in his assessment of the decision, saying: “I think Ferrari also made a mistake.

“They should have left him out for one more lap to see how that front wing is hanging on there, because it looked fine structurally, it was just the right-hand side flap that was missing.

“So that could have been okay to still finish at least fourth in the race, so I think Ferrari did a small mistake there.”

Max Verstappen won the race around the Imola circuit, meaning the reigning world champion has now closed the gap to Leclerc in the drivers’ standings to 27 points.

Verstappen and Leclerc have shared two victories apiece in the opening four races of the season. Next up they head to America for the Miami Grand Prix.