Charles Leclerc on the brink of grid penalty after his crash at the Miami Grand Prix qualifying
Following his crash at the Miami GP, Charles Leclerc is facing a risk of having another grid penalty after using his three out of four allowed gearboxes.
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Charles Leclerc after his crash in Miami GP qualifying (Credits: Sky Sports F1)
Charles Leclerc is facing a yet another penalty down the barrel having taken third gearbox out of the permissible four at the Miami Grand Prix. Charles had a sloppy qualifying session in which he made a mistake into the turn 7 and binned his Ferrari into the barriers, bringing up red flags and prematurely terminating Q3.
Charles expressed his disappointment over the radio, saying “I am sorry guys, I am sorry.” The SF-23 was lacking in pace compared to Red Bull, and Charles Leclerc had to take risks to qualify higher. He admitted that he is hard on himself when he makes such mistakes and does not want a repeat of it, as this is not the level he wants to perform.
The Scuderia confirmed that the gearbox had been saved from the collision, but there is still a risk of a penalty in the upcoming races. Charles Leclerc had already taken a ten-place grid drop penalty at the second race of the season, in Saudi Arabia, and he is now at risk of another one. The four permissible gearboxes are intended to last the entire season, and with Charles Leclerc already on his third, the chances of another penalty are increasing.
Charles Leclerc says he had to take risks in order to beat the Red Bull’s supremacy
Ferrari brought their first significant upgrades of the season to the Miami Grand Prix, but they could not match the pace of Red Bull, who were comfortably ahead of the rest of the field all weekend. The team aimed to improve overall aerodynamic performance by updating their front floor and diffuser geometry. Charles had to push hard in the SF-23, saying, “I am obviously taking quite a lot of risk… because I know we are behind Red Bull at the moment.” He acknowledged that his aggressive set-up might pay off in the race, but it was too much for qualifying.
Charles Leclerc expects a better race after a rainy start to the Miami Grand Prix. “We are starting seventh, weather looks to be quite tricky so hopefully we’ll have a clean race and be able to come back to the front,” he said. Charles believes the Astons look strong in race pace, and he is uncertain where he will finish, but he hopes to be on the podium.
Charles starts the race in seventh with his teammate, Carlos Sainz in third. Segio Perez will lead the pack and Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull faces a task of slicing up the field in order to challenge Perez for a win. As for Charles, Ferrari will be hoping they wouldn’t have to risk taking yet another penalty too early this season and make up lost ground in the race.
In case you missed it:
- Charles Leclerc blames ‘aggressive Ferrari setup’ for his Miami GP crash in Q3
- “Do they give Checo less power?” – Fans smell Red Bull sabotage as Max Verstappen tops Sergio Perez in straight-line speed
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Rohit Bhaskar
(727 Articles Published)