Charles Leclerc won’t be remembering last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix anytime soon, with the Monegasque driver having endured a woeful weekend at the venue he claimed pole position at 12 months ago.
After entering the weekend at the Miami International Autodrome on the back of a great podium in Azerbaijan, many were expecting Leclerc to build on from his strong result, rather than go in the opposite direction.
The 25-year-old struggled in Miami throughout the weekend, starting with a crash at Turn 8 during Free Practice 2.
Leclerc found himself back in the Turn 8 barrier in the closing stages of Q3 on Saturday, with the Ferrari driver having lost the rear after pushing beyond the limit.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
He accepted responsibility for the mistake and admitted that he was simply pushing too hard, something he recognised he had to stop.
Leclerc started the race in seventh and for the bulk of it looked slow; however, he was able to finish the fifth round of the 2023 F1 season from where he started.
He was certainly far from happy with his car after the race, which he labelled as being “super picky”.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he told the Italian broadcast after the race. “We have a super picky car, when you are in ideal conditions, the feeling is very good, but once you make a small mistake, the car is impossible to drive.
“I had to manage the tyres at the beginning of the race, which greatly affected me. We need a more consistent car. During the race, I go from one corner with an understeer to the next corner suddenly with an oversteer.”
To make the weekend that much worse for Leclerc, the Ferrari driver was ridiculed by Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for his questionable fashion sense.
Norris and Verstappen were quick to joke about Leclerc’s choice of shorts whilst in the media pen, something they found absolutely hilarious.
READ: βTheyβre both monstersβ: Sergio Perez warned about Max Verstappen
“Did you make them yourself?” Norris asked Leclerc.
“Yes,” replied the Ferrari driver, to the amazement of Verstappen who couldn’t help but laugh with Norris.
“Oh my god he’s taking the piss,” joked Verstappen, before Pierre Gasly came over to look at Leclerc’s questionable shorts.