Charles Leclerc: I will try to attack Max

In Miami, Charles Leclerc starts from the front row for the 35th time in his career…

Question: Charles, excellent qualifications. Are you happy with the car this time?
Charles Leclerc: Satisfied. Actually we didn’t change much on Saturday, we just made minor adjustments. But it is difficult to complete a lap on this circuit. The tires behave unstable, especially in the second sector. And there are many turns where you do not know what awaits you – this makes the task very difficult. Qualifying proved difficult, but second place is a good starting position.

Q: Tell us about your second attempt in the qualifying final…
Charles Leclerc: I decided to take a chance, but I overdid it a bit. In fact, almost no one except Sergio improved his result on the second fastest lap. I don’t know, maybe the wind direction changed, or something else.

My first fastest lap in the final was good. I wasn’t very happy with some corners, but here it is extremely difficult to keep the tires in range for the entire lap distance. I think that was the case for everyone.

Question: Charles, Ferrari is more competitive in Miami than it was in China a few weeks ago. How do you explain this?
Charles Leclerc: I think this has to do with the characteristics of the track, although some points are not entirely clear to us. As in China, the problems arose mainly in slow corners, but here there are more of them and the car behaves better. I think we will resolve this soon.

Q: It seems like you’re more optimistic here about your chances of fighting Max in the race…
Charles Leclerc: In the sprint we were less successful than normal, although this can be explained by the fact that Max was not very happy with his car on Saturday morning. Let’s see what happens during the race.

We adjusted the settings slightly, the car became faster. If we have the same pace as in the sprint, we can apply a little more pressure with the help of strategy. I hope it will be so.

Question: Are you hoping to attack Max on the first turn?
Charles Leclerc: The first turn is always very important. Max has excellent race speed, he can pull away, so if there is an opportunity to attack at the start, he should take advantage of it. There was such an opportunity in the sprint, but I couldn’t move forward. I’ll be happy if I can overtake him in the race, but if not, I’ll have to be patient and save my tires to attack later.

Question: How do you assess the popularity of Formula 1 in the US, what has changed since you started your career?
Charles Leclerc: A lot has changed since I started performing in 2018. It’s fun. Formula 1 is not yet as popular here as in Europe, but interest is growing and that is great!

Question: How did fans react to the appearance of blue in the car’s color?
Charles Leclerc: I think everyone expected more blue, but overall everyone is happy. Although I think a Ferrari should be red, I’m glad the car isn’t completely blue.