Leclerc revisits ‘harsh’ comments after Antonelli clash in Miami sprint

The Monegasque was involved in an entertaining battle with the Italian driver at the start, with the latter once again struggling off the line and losing two positions. Heading into the stadium section, Antonelli attempted a move around the outside while tightening the line under braking, something that did not go down well with the Ferrari driver, who nevertheless managed to hold on to the position and eventually finish third.

Speaking after the race, Leclerc admitted he may have been slightly too harsh in the heat of the moment due to the adrenaline inside the car. The Ferrari driver also acknowledged that he and Antonelli have already had a few tense moments on track in the past and expressed hope that things will calm down moving forward, particularly given the fact the Italian is currently the only driver from Italy on the Formula 1 grid against Ferrari.

The Italian driver was unable to hold on to his front-row starting spot, with Antonelli deemed to have breached track limits once too often at the Hard Rock Stadium, dropping two positions and seeing his nine-point advantage over Russell cut to seven.

Leclerc, meanwhile, managed to extend his lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the Monegasque now sitting 20 points off the top of the Drivers’ standings, while Hamilton trails him by 12 points in fifth place. Once again, Leclerc showed he is capable of matching the frontrunners despite being fully aware that Ferrari are still lacking power compared to the Mercedes-powered cars, in this case McLaren, who secured a one-two finish. Here is how the Drivers’ standings look after the Sprint Race.