Charles Leclerc believes it was his last lap mistake that cost him a podium at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, not Ferrari’s early strategy calls.
The Monegasque continued Ferrari’s run of amazing starts in Miami. Leclerc sailed past Antonelli and Norris in the early stages of Lap 1, securing the early race lead.
Whilst a common occurrence in 2026, many were sceptical this would happen again, due to the rule tweaks announced for the remainder of the season.
But as shown in previous races, despite the advantage on the start, Ferrari was unable to keep its rivals behind. Thus, Antonelli and Norris were able to pass Leclerc during Lap 4 and 13 respectively. The Ferrari driver was then locked in an intense battle with Oscar Piastri for third
Unfortunately, Leclerc’s race derailed from there on out. Ferrari decided to pit him first out of the top four drivers on Lap 13. This frustrated the third-place runner as rain was forecast for the coming laps, which he let his team know on the radio.
“Why did we stop? When is the rain?” Leclerc said.
“Next time you make a decision, please speak with me. I am here as well.”’
Leclerc assesses SF-26 damage
A slow stop put him out in 12th, behind George Russell. However, the eight-time Grand Prix winner slowly made his way back through the field, finding himself in a battle with Piastri for third. The penultimate lap saw the McLaren pass its rival, demoting Leclerc to fourth. However, his woes didn’t end there.
The final lap saw the Monegasque spin at Turn 3, clipping the barrier with the front left of his SF-26. Despite making it to the chequered flag, albeit in sixth place, Leclerc was demoted to eighth with a post-race penalty, awarded by the stewards after deeming he had gone off track, by cutting chicanes, and gained a lasting advantage.
Alongside this, his Ferrari sustained significant damage following the incident.
“The damage was significant. To tell you exactly what was the damage, I’m not so sure,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure there was a puncture; there was probably some suspension damage as well, as I couldn’t really turn to the right anymore.”
Leclerc at fault for poor Miami result
Leclerc admitted the incident was a mistake on his end that ultimately cost him a third podium this season. The 27-year-old maintained the early strategy call had no impact on the final result.
“I think that without the mistake, I could have done a podium – more than the strategy,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s easy to blame it on the strategy after a while, even with the best strategy, with that mistake in the last lap, I probably wouldn’t have been on the podium
So first I’ll look at myself. And then shortly I’ll talk with the team to try and improve whatever we have to optimise.”
Leclerc highlighted that the spin was not due to frustration over Piastri’s move a lap earlier but rather a rare moment this season that the SF-26 did not cooperate with his on-track battles.
“So I was relatively calm in the car. Then, of course, I pushed like an animal in Turn 3.
“And most of the time this year, it went through. I’ve had quite a few battles this year, but this time, we didn’t, and I’m disappointed with myself.
Leclerc emphasised that despite four races into the season, the new regulations still have many questions for him.
“I obviously need to look because with these cars, you always have the question mark of how much it deploys and considering it was the last lap, maybe there was a bit more out of that corner as you just need to finish the lap with that amount of energy.
But that’s not an excuse in any way. It’s all on me, and it’s not acceptable. So I need to look at that.”
Following the Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc still sits third in the Drivers’ Championship, 41 points behind Antonelli.
Importantly, McLaren’s consistent form in the past two races has allowed Norris to catch up to the Monegasque, with eight points between the pair.
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