After his second collision in two days ended qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix on Saturday, Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc blamed himself.
The error also left opponents fuming, with Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen finishing tenth on the starting grid for Sunday’s race after failing to complete a flying lap.
“I think what’s unacceptable is making the same mistake twice in the same corner,” Leclerc, who will start eighth despite the error, said. “I am quite disappointed in myself.
“You can always find excuses in those situations — the wind was really strong, it was really tricky, the car setup was really tricky,” continued Monegasque, who won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend.
“However, I put myself in these situations.” I wanted this configuration and knew it would be difficult, but I believed I could get the most out of the vehicle in Q3 (the last phase), which is generally one of my strong points.
“I also know that I probably take more risks than others in Q3 and that’s why most of the time I have good Q3s, but this is too much.” I’m very disappointed in myself. I made the same error yesterday, and it should not have happened.”
Leclerc, who won the pole in Miami last year, was hoping for a clean race on Sunday to move up the field.
When asked if he was placing too much pressure on himself in qualifying, Leclerc paused.
“I don’t believe so. “Most of the time, it pays off,” he remarked.
“However, I overdid it this weekend. “I can’t hide my dissatisfaction.”
Leclerc stated that the Aston Martin, which had Fernando Alonso on the front row with Red Bull’s polesitter Sergio Perez, looked powerful on race pace.
“A podium finish tomorrow would be a really good finish considering our race pace,” he continued.
