From the Podium to Sixth Place: Charles Leclerc Endures a Nightmare in Miami’s Final Lap, Featuring a Spin, a Collision, and an Unusual Line Choice
The final stages of the Formula 1 race in Miami held plenty of drama for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver entered the final two laps in third place, but Leclerc crossed the finish line only in sixth—and that after an extremely eventful final lap featuring a spin, a collision, and numerous shortcuts.
It all started when he was overtaken by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri in the final braking zone of the penultimate lap, effectively knocking him off the podium. But that wasn’t really the drama yet: “I was actually very calm,” he says. “I wanted to overtake Oscar on that final lap. That’s why I didn’t make it too hard for him to pass me before the last corner.”
“I knew that otherwise it would be very difficult to stay up front.” Leclerc’s plan: stay close to Piastri and reclaim third place, as he has done often enough this season. In an attempt to keep up with the Australian, he pushed “like a beast” in the corner, according to his own account.
But Leclerc overdid it and spun out at high speed. Although he managed to avoid a major crash, he still slammed the left side of his car into the wall. “That’s entirely my fault,” he laments. “I’m very frustrated with myself.”
“Of course, I have to look into this, because with these cars there’s always the question of how much energy they release—and since it was the last lap, maybe a bit more power came out of the corner because you have to finish the lap with the remaining energy,” he continues, but emphasizes at the same time: “That is by no means an excuse.”
“It’s all on me and it’s unacceptable. So I have to look into that.” He’s annoyed: “Those were very bad decisions, and within four corners I threw a very strong race down the drain.”
Unconventional line choice due to damaged suspension
Leclerc had to finish the rest of the lap with a damaged car. According to him, the damage was “significant.” “To say exactly what was damaged, I’m not entirely sure. I’m pretty sure there was a tire puncture and probably also damage to the suspension, since I couldn’t really steer to the right anymore.”
As a result, Leclerc interpreted the track limits—let’s say—somewhat freely. On multiple occasions, he drove through the run-off area and cut corners in the process: Leclerc skipped Turn 6, drove completely on the inside next to the bollard in Turn 8 before the long back straight, and also did not navigate the chicane properly.
The consequence: The stewards launched an investigation for multiple instances of leaving the track. The Monegasque driver faces a penalty for this.
At the same time, he also faces trouble for driving his car on the track in an unsafe condition. The stewards are investigating this as well after the race.
Collision with Russell in the final corner
The third investigation concerns a duel with George Russell, who attacked Leclerc on the final straight but collided with him in the final braking corner. Leclerc accelerated out of it but was ultimately beaten by Russell and, just before the finish line, by Max Verstappen as well.
“I don’t have much to say about George. I think George moved a bit while braking,“ he told Sky. ”Of course, my car wasn’t in the best condition, but luckily it was still okay for the left-hand turns. It was the right-hand turns that I couldn’t manage anymore.“
”So in the final corner, Turn 17, where George overtook me, my car was more or less okay. So I knew I could take a normal corner, which I did. But we made contact, mainly because he tried to close the door and I was there,“ said Leclerc. ”I’m not too worried about that.“
”On the other hand, my mistake before that is unacceptable; something like that shouldn’t happen.”
