Leclerc flags ‘strange’ issue on SF-25 after tough Miami qualifying

Charles Leclerc endured a challenging Saturday at the Miami Grand Prix, as a disastrous Sprint race incident was followed by a lacklustre qualifying performance that left him only eighth on the grid.

The Ferrari driver admitted that his earlier crash and what he described as “something strange” on his SF-25 both contributed to a frustrating day at the Miami International Autodrome.

Leclerc’s troubles began before the Sprint race even got underway. While en route to the grid, the Monegasque was caught out by the treacherous track conditions when he slid off and hit the barriers, inflicting terminal damage to his car.

The incident came at a high cost: while Leclerc was sidelined, team-mate Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the tricky conditions to power his Ferrari to a strong third-place finish.

A Costly Sprint Misstep

Reflecting on the incident, Leclerc admitted fault but also pointed to a team decision that contributed to the crash.

“Honestly, I can drive around a hundred times and there’s not much you can do as a driver,” he said.

“I think the mistake was in the first place to be out on Inter tyres with those track conditions, and this we need to understand what we’ve done wrong as a team.

“I won’t go too deep into that, but obviously I think this was the main mistake that then cost us a lot.

“But yeah, obviously that made the whole day a lot more difficult for the mechanics; for me as well, not doing as many laps as others.”

Despite the setback, Leclerc returned for qualifying and managed to make it into Q3. However, he could do no better than eighth, and his debrief pointed to further complications beyond the earlier crash.

Mysterious Car Behaviour Adds to Ferrari Frustration

Leclerc revealed after qualifying that something felt off with his Ferrari – a possible result of the repairs made following the Sprint crash or the significant set-up changes that followed.

“I don’t feel like I’ve paid the price of it [the Sprint incident] today,” he explained. “Then in qualifying, we were just not fast enough.

“We’ve got to analyse, there was something strange on our side.

“I had to change massively the car, the tools and everything in order to have kind of a balance I liked, but I went… yeah, it was very different.

“So we’ve got to look into it to understand what happened there.”

When asked if the issue was perhaps rooted in his car’s rebuild, Leclerc avoided laying blame, instead suggesting the team will need to investigate further.

“I don’t want to say that for now,” he continued.

“The mechanics have done an incredible job putting everything on, and to be honest, we’ve changed a few things on the car as well in terms of set-up.

“It’s unclear to me whether the set-up changes had a much bigger impact than what I thought, or whether there’s something off. But yeah, this we’ll look into tonight.”

• Read also: Hamilton dejected after Miami Q2 exit: 'We are struggling big time'

Leclerc’s concern was amplified by a growing frustration with the car’s underlying performance, which he feels has plateaued.

“It is frustrating, but to be honest, this weekend I feel like – and that’s probably even more so frustrating – is that I feel we are maximising the potential of the car,” he said.

“It’s just that the potential of the car is just not there.

“When I finish a lap, again today in qualifying, I feel very satisfied with my lap, but it’s only bringing us whatever it is, P8 or something.

“So yeah, we’ve got to look at it. I think a track like this also highlights our weaknesses. There’s a lot of low-speed content.

“Both Williams are in front of us and I consider my lap a good one. So I think it’s pretty easy to understand where we are lacking.”

As the Miami evening settled in, Leclerc faced a long debrief of analysis with his team. The “strange” feeling in his Ferrari, coupled with the weight of his earlier mistake, had made Saturday a day to forget.

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