Charles Leclerc explains crash - but is “not accepting” drab Ferrari pace

Charles Leclerc insists Ferrari’s competitiveness is “not good enough”.

Leclerc qualified for the F1 Miami Grand Prix in eighth, while teammate Lewis Hamilton languished in 12th.

It represented another drab session for the Ferrari drivers who pre-season hype has yet to become a reality.

“The fact is that I’m not accepting it! It’s just not good enough,” Leclerc complained about his car’s performance.

“It’s frustrating because it’s those kinds of days, there’s been quite a few races already that I feel I’m doing a really good job but when you are finishing P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, it’s just a shame.

“I have no satisfaction of doing a good job.

“I’m just hoping that we can turn the situation around as soon as possible, but at the moment that’s the situation we are in and there’s not much I can do.”

Charles Leclerc admits error for pre-sprint crash

Earlier on Saturday, Leclerc had crashed due to the wet conditions before the sprint race started, triggering a red flag.

He had little choice but to own up to the error.

“It’s frustrating, but at the end of the day I can only blame myself for it,” he admitted.

“Going out with inters in those conditions was probably not the best choice, but on the other hand these things shouldn’t happen.

“I felt a bit like a passenger because it’s in a straight line, and it’s not like you are pushing in a straight line.

“I was just cruising until I completely lost control of the car because of the aquaplaning and I had no way out of it.

“Very disappointed. It’s the way it is, now I need to move on.”

Last time out in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc claimed his first podium of the season.

Ferrari know that their race pace can often yield better results than their qualifying runs, a small glimmer of hope for Leclerc.

“A little bit, but not so much either,” he said.

“I don’t think we can expect any miracles from us. It’s been a difficult race weekend since FP1 and it’s difficult to recover.

“I’ll give my best, I hope the race pace will be as strong as in Jeddah but it’s a very different characteristics of track here.

“I think that on paper it’s going to be more difficult.”