F1 News

Leclerc unlucky with safety car in Miami

Would Leclerc have won if Ferrari waited to pit at the same time as Norris?

11 May at 18:00
1
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Charles Leclerc insists he would not have won the Miami Grand Prix had he received the same luck as Lando Norris. The British driver stayed out longer, and a timely safety car and an FIA mistake allowed him to maintain the lead of the race. Leclerc believes his Ferrari car just wouldn't have had the pace to keep Norris behind.

Leclerc pitted on lap 20 of the Miami Grand Prix, just prior to Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Those pitstops allowed Norris to take track position when the safety car came out. Leclerc worked his way back to P3 by the time the safety car came out.

Would Leclerc have won with a lucky safety car?

"We have been unlucky with the safety car. If I found myself in the situation of Lando [Norris] maybe I could have gained a position with Max [Verstappen]. I don't think we would've won today. McLaren was too strong. With Max, we had a very similar pace so I've been a bit unlucky with the safety car but I don't think that with fresher tyres I could have passed him," Leclerc told Viaplay. "These are things we cannot control, so we're just focusing on the things we can control. We gave our best, and we couldn't do much better."

Team boss Fred Vasseur agreed with his driver. Speaking to F1TV after the race, the Frenchman praised McLaren for making the most of their situation. He also signalled that he was happy for the sport because the race produced a fight between several drivers.

"Happy for the F1 because at the end it was a good show and that is important. Perhaps we were a bit frustrated at the end because we felt that the pace was there, and in these circumstances, you want to win, but I think it was mainly dictated by track position and safety car, and it is like it is," he said.

McLaren introduced upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix and made a significant step. Ferrari hope to do the same at the next Grand Prix weekend in Imola when they will introduce upgrades.