Leclerc believes it: “We didn’t go with the soft tyres, but we’re stronger in terms of pace. I hope to get back to the front in the race”

Sprint Miami Qualifying, Leclerc 4th First in free practice, first in SQ1 and first in SQ2. Then, as often happens, Charles Leclerc pays for Ferrari’s drop in performance in the decisive time attack, where the SF-26 is unable to shave off those tenths that the competition finds with extreme ease. It also happened in the Sprint Qualifying in Miami, in which Leclerc placed fourth. An outcome that doesn’t satisfy him either in terms of performance (indeed, the immediate team radio talks about a horrendous lap) or in terms of grid position, but which allows him to be optimistic for tomorrow: according to him, the SF-26 – fresh from updates – has a pace that will allow him to get back to the front. Leclerc’s words “The updates went well, but they all brought new things, so we more or less expected a situation in which Mercedes is probably still the car to beat”, this is Leclerc’s immediate comment. “McLaren made a big step forward, but I think he didn’t optimize the first part of the season; he was always there but he didn’t put everything together.” “For our part, we struggled with the tyres. The mediums worked very well, with the softs today we didn’t have good sensations. We need to examine what happened, we know that in terms of race pace we are stronger, but in qualifying there is still work to do,” he added. “I think that in Qualifying we can find a bit more performance, but I still hope that in the race we can get back to the front. We have the pace to do it, we’ll see if we’re brave in overtaking too.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-02 08:20:00