Despite a Ferrari that was "not fast enough," Charles Leclerc once again starts on the second row in Miami

Four, four, four, four, four… The qualifying results of Charles Leclerc He had followed an implacable logic and astonishing consistency since the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Whether in qualifying for the Sprint or the Grand Prix, the Monegasque driver had always posted the fourth fastest time this season.

But this result, while good, fell short of the expectations of number 16 and is now a thing of the past. The driver with 52 podium finishes in Formula 1 managed to set the third fastest time in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on a front-row start. Beaten by Kimi Antonelli and Max VerstappenHaving made a significant improvement on his last lap, Charles Leclerc will start from a favorable position, from which he can try to extract the maximum from the shortened turbo of his Classic Ferrari for sale, which has given the Italians blistering starts since the beginning of the season.

"It was close, and ultimately we weren't fast enough today, and this weekend in general." Leclerc regrets this, having ended his tiresome series of fourth places, but struggles to be satisfied with a second row on the starting grid. “We brought a significant upgrade package, which is helping us, but there are still things we need to improve. It was a very tricky session; the wind direction was changing a lot. So the car was behaving very differently. It’s always difficult to put everything together in those conditions. Third is still a good grid position.” He continues.

Especially since his session could have taken a different turn when Charles Leclerc jumped the aggressive kerb at turn 8 in a "skateboard" style. A slight misstep that made him fear he had damaged the floor of his Ferrari SF-26. "I don't know if there was any damage to the car, I don't think so because I haven't heard anything [from the pit wall]. It was a fairly significant impact but it should be okay." believes the Ferrari driver.

Now he will have to work hard in the race to get a good start and try to come out on top, as a storm is expected at the time of the start, scheduled for 22 p.m. French time, Sunday, May 3.

ALSO READ > Kimi Antonelli follows up with another pole position in Miami: "I was very stressed!"