Leclerc owns up to Miami misery: ‘I put a strong race in the bin’
Originally published by F1i
Charles Leclerc didn’t look for excuses after Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix – he didn’t need to. Instead, the Ferrari driver delivered a brutally honest verdict on a podium that slipped through his fingers in the space of a few corners.
What had been shaping up as a hard-earned top-three finish unravelled in dramatic fashion late on, as Leclerc’s bold gamble backfired and sent him tumbling down the order.
Locked in a fierce battle with Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the 57-lap event, the Scuderia charger made a split-second tactical call – one that ultimately cost him dearly.
He allowed the McLaren driver through at the final corner, hoping to immediately fight back using Overtake Mode down the straight. But instead of regaining the position, Leclerc lost control at Turn 1, spinning wildly and brushing the wall.
The damage proved costly. With his car compromised, Leclerc could only watch as George Russell and Max Verstappen swept past on the final lap, dropping him from a podium position to sixth at the flag.
And when it came time to explain what happened, Leclerc didn’t hesitate.
“It’s all on me and I don’t have much to add other than that,” he said. “I’m very disappointed with my mistake, it shouldn’t happen.
"I pushed very hard in the second to last lap, I thought it was a good idea to let Oscar go for me to get the Overtake, I knew it was going to be very difficult to stay in front otherwise.
“It was a very poor decision and in the space of four corners I put a very strong race in the bin, so I’m very frustrated about that. Not much more to say.”
More trouble after the flag
As if the on-track drama wasn’t enough, Leclerc’s afternoon may yet take another hit.
The Ferrari driver - as well as Russell and Verstappen - is under investigation for multiple incidents on the final lap, including leaving the track and gaining an advantage, driving a potentially unsafe car, and minor contact with Russell as the pair battled in the closing moments.
For now, Leclerc can only wait to see if further consequences follow.
“I don’t know what will be the decision, I guess we will have to wait and see,” he said.
“The thing I can say is I did my best to try and make the corners first of all and it was probably a lot more difficult from what it looked from the outside.”
It was a candid and self-critical assessment from a driver who knows just how fine the margins are at the front of Formula 1.
In Miami, Leclerc had the pace, the strategy—and, for most of the race, the result. But in a flash of ambition and a moment of overreach, it all slipped away.