Charles Leclerc praises “special” Red Bull Miami F1 resurgence

Charles Leclerc says Red Bull’s form rebound was anticipated, but praised Max Verstappen’s “very impressive” pace at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

Red Bull brought a significant upgrade package to Miami, following a difficult opening three rounds to the new campaign.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen qualified his Red Bull second on the grid on Saturday, having been a serious threat for pole.

He was just 0.166s from polesitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes, with Verstappen noting after qualifying that he is no longer “a total passenger” in the car.

Charles Leclerc heaped praise on Red Bull’s bounce-back, branding it “special”.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a surprise for Kimi because they’ve been the fastest car since the beginning of the year, and Kimi has done an incredible job in the last three races,” the Ferrari driver said.

“I mean, Max and Red Bull are a bit more of a surprise, but they brought a significant upgrade, and they are a great team.

“They’ve shown it over the past years, so it’s not that we can rely on them staying where they were for the first three races.

“So we expected a reaction, but it’s a very impressive reaction to be back on the front row after being so far off in the first races.

“It’s special. But yeah, our job is to do just the same and to finish in front of those guys. So that’s where my focus is at the moment.”

Leclerc will start Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix from third on the grid, as Ferrari’s initial pole hopes faded by Q3.

While acknowledging that the wind had changed for qualifying, Leclerc doesn’t believe this hindered Ferrari.

“The wind is definitely a factor,” he added.

“I think track temperature wasn’t that different, so I don’t think that is a reason.

“But the wind has for sure changed a little bit.

“Whether it will affect our car more than others, I don’t believe in that.

“So, I think it’s somewhere else the answer.

“Maybe it is the track evolution, and we didn’t anticipate that well, and maybe by just pushing a little bit more today in qualifying the weaknesses of the car were a little bit more apparent.

“So yeah, but I obviously didn’t have a close look at the data just yet as I just got out the car. So we’ll have to look at the details and try to understand where we lost most time.”