Leclerc caught out by Miami track surface in FP2

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Charles Leclerc says he paid the price for venturing just slightly off-line at Miami's Turn 8 during Friday's second practice session.

The Ferrari driver was on a heavy-fuel run in FP2 when he lost the rear of his SF-23 as he entered the long left-hand corner, his car veering straight in the Tepco barrier.

The crash was fortunately inconsequential for Leclerc, but the Monegasque was nevertheless annoyed to have been caught out by Miami's new low-grip track surface.

"Yeah overall it’s very tricky because there is only one line and whenever you get off-line there is really, really, poor grip," Leclerc explained after the session which he concluded in P3.

"That’s basically what happened – I pushed too much, lost the rear, tried to recover from it but I had no grip to turn the car so that was it.

"But no big damage, obviously the front right is gone but apart from that no damage to the rear of the car which is the most important but tomorrow is another day and I’m sure it will go well."

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Leclerc was happy overall with his car's behaviour but noted once the again the Scuderia's significant performance deficit to Red Bull.

"It’s like this, but apart from that I think the feeling is quite good over one lap," he said.

"For the race we are so far behind, Red Bull is again in a league of its own, very, very far in front.

"So in the race we definitely have a lot of time to find but in qualifying pace we are more or less there.

"I don’t think we have any miracles in hand to close the gap so I don’t think we will be much closer."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.