Charles Leclerc reflects on a challenging Saturday in Miami. The Ferrari driver’s sprint race ended prematurely when he crashed in wet conditions on his way to the starting grid. During the regular qualifying session, the Monegasque hoped to redeem himself, but despite being satisfied with his own performance, he had to settle for the eighth fastest time. This was not entirely successful – Leclerc criticizes Ferrari’s lack of pace.
Leclerc lamented his early crash during the sprint race leading up to the Miami GP. During the formation lap, the abundance of water on the track caused Leclerc to become ‘a passenger in his own SF-25’, as is often said in Formula 1. A bit of aquaplaning, and his session ended in the wall. In the subsequent qualifying session, Leclerc hoped to recover on behalf of Ferrari. Although the Monegasque did outperform teammate Lewis Hamilton – who did not make it past Q2 – he himself ended up in a disappointing eighth place.
When asked how difficult it is to accept that the performance is currently not in the car, Leclerc replied: “I just don’t accept it! It’s just not good enough. It’s frustrating that we’re in such a slump. There have been quite a few races where I feel like I’m doing really well, but when you then finish in P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, it’s just a shame. I don’t get satisfaction from doing well.”
‘Don’t Count on Miracles’
“I just hope that Ferrari can turn the situation around as soon as possible,” Carlos Sainz Jr added hopefully. “But at this moment, this is just what it is; I can’t change much about it.” However, there is a glimmer of hope for the 27-year-old driver. In terms of race speed, the Scuderia seems to have made significant strides in recent weeks. Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium for the first time this year during the last GP in Saudi Arabia, and Lewis Hamilton secured a solid third place during the sprint race in Miami. Is there hope for the tifosi?
“A little, but not that much,” Leclerc sighed. “I don’t think we can count on miracles tomorrow. It’s been a difficult race weekend since the first free practice, and it’s hard to recover from that. I’m going to do my best, and of course, I hope that the race speed will be as good as in Jeddah, but the track here has very different characteristics. I think it will be harder on paper,” he concluded realistically.
