Helmut Marko makes a sarcastic comment about Charles Leclerc’s qualifying crash
Leclerc brought out red flags which ended the session with 1m 37s remaining, meaning Red Bull’s Sergio Perez claimed pole while Max Verstappen was forced to settle for P9.
Ferrari driver Leclerc, who crashed in Friday practice and Saturday’s qualifying, drew the ire of Red Bull consultant Marko.
"To put it sarcastically: 'You can't drive out behind Leclerc’,” he told Sky.
"Max was extremely unlucky. He went a little wide in the first run and then we should have come out of the pits earlier.
“We would have had the speed. We don't need to wait for the track to improve any more.
"At least the first two rows would have been safe.
“But it's a learning phase. We wanted to concentrate completely on the last run and get the best out of it.
“The later you go out, the better the track will be. But in this case it wasn't that right decision.”
Reigning F1 champion Verstappen has bullishly claimed that he can turn a P9 start into a podium finish and challenge for the win.
That would mean another all-Red Bull battle with his teammate Perez, who edged him to victory last week in Baku.
Perez has emerged as the likeliest threat to Verstappen’s title this season, a delicate situation that Red Bull must manage.
"Pole position for Checo, that's unbelievable,” Marko said.
“Here in Miami it's more or less a second home race for him. In Miami they speak just as much Spanish as English.
“He implemented all of that well. He has learned in all phases. He is further on in terms of tyres, can concentrate more and in recent years he has always been half a second to a second behind Max started.
“You can't get that out in the course of one or two training sessions.
“But he starts closer to Max now and that's why he's always in the lead overall."
