Charles Leclerc: Third place is our maximum in Miami

Charles Leclerc expected to compete for victory before the start of the Miami Grand Prix, but finished third. The Ferrari driver said that the car had too little speed and that he could not count on a better result.

His teammate Carlos Sainz finished fourth and said he was disappointed by the actions of Oscar Piastri, who pushed him off the track.

Charles Leclerc (3rd): “The start turned out to be very difficult – as soon as I started moving, the wheels started to slip. I saw Sergio Perez on my right, but there was little grip on that part of the track, so he locked his wheels. I thought we were all going to collide, but luckily for all of us we made it through the first corner unscathed.

Then I was fully focused on my race, but today the car was a bit lacking in speed. I did my best, but the safety car came out at the wrong time and I had to run on old tires for the rest of the race.

I did well though. Third place was the maximum for today, so I am happy with this result.”

Carlos Sainz (4th): “It seems like everyone was desperately struggling today. At first Sergio at the start reminded me of the good old days when Sebastian Vettel said: “He came in like a torpedo.” Sergio almost eliminated us all and his actions cost me two positions.

Then I was very fast and took care of the tires at the same time. I didn’t wait one lap for the safety car; it probably cost me the win.

Afterwards I was disappointed in Oscar, who clearly pushed me off the track. Because of this I lost time compared to Charles and Max Verstappen. I noticed that the stewards were not very active in handing out penalties today, so I had to be aggressive.

Lando deserved to win after all these years. He will win many more races in Formula 1. He drove at an incredible level, and today luck was also on his side. Luck helps those who deserve it, and Lando certainly earned it today.