Charles Leclerc Expects His Gamble to Pay Off in Miami GP’s Main Race Despite His Bad Starting Position

Charles Leclerc is often his harshest critic and he proved that once again after he revealed his frustrations following a disastrous Miami Grand Prix qualifying session. However, after unleashing his anger, he did provide a note of optimism for his fans as well by stating that his gamble may pay off in the main race.

While speaking after his ‘unacceptable’ mistake in qualifying, Leclerc said (as quoted by therace.com), “I have a very aggressive set-up. I think it will pay off in the race for us. In qualifying, it was just too much.” The Monegasque revealed his frustrations after he managed to qualify only seventh after crashing into the barriers in Q3.

A head-spinning twist at the climax of qualifying 🤯#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/bC4jZy1qOe

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2023

Charles Leclerc was furious with himself after the Miami GP qualifying

While speaking after the Miami GP qualifying on Saturday, Charles Leclerc revealed his extreme disappointment, having committed the same mistake twice. He said he was fuming with himself as he collided at the same location during one of the practice sessions as well.

However, because of the nature of the crash, the frustrations for Leclerc and Ferrari will not end just there, as the 25-year-old will also take a new gearbox for the main race. This is Leclerc’s third gearbox out of the four allowed for a season.

If Leclerc were to exceed the number of maximum gearboxes allowed for a season, then he will incur a 10-place grid penalty for the first gearbox he exceeds. And then any subsequent additional gearboxes after the fifth will incur a five-place grid penalty. Since Leclerc is already on his third, he will need to be careful going ahead in the season.

Leclerc suffers yet another disappointment after a fantastic result in Baku

Charles Leclerc’s disastrous start to the F1 2023 season seemingly came to an end last week in Baku after he scored a fantastic 22 points over the race weekend. However, with him only qualifying seventh for the Miami GP this weekend, he will once again have it all to do.

When it comes to the Drivers’ Championship, the Monegasque is currently sixth with 28 points, six points behind his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. Since Leclerc’s weekend in Miami has been off to a poor start, he will hope to limit the damage during the main race by finishing as high as possible.