05/05/2025 16:08
Charles Leclerc has demanded Ferrari react and make a step in the
right direction following a frustrating Miami Grand Prix, which saw
radio tensions boil over. Ferrari, again, failed to look
competitive at the Miami International Autodrome, to the extent
that both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were beaten by Williams' Alex
Albon. Leclerc finished in seventh and 57 seconds adrift of race
winner Oscar Piastri, directly ahead of Hamilton in eighth. The
frustration of both was evident in Miami, due to Ferrari having
made yet another strategic blunder. Hamilton, on a softer compound
of tyre for his second stint, caught Leclerc on the hards, yet was
initially halted from passing his team-mate. It cost the Briton
significant time, before the instruction was sent to swap
positions; however, as the call took so long, Hamilton's pace
immediately weakened, resulting in Leclerc moving back ahead in the
closing laps. Both drivers complained over the radio, with the
Maranello-based team's season continuing to worsen. When asked if
Ferrari's lack of pace is causing frustration to show, Leclerc told
select media, including RacingNews365 : "Of course, yes, there's
the frustration already that I was fighting for P8 at the time, and
I was not making any gains. "I was really struggling with the
car. So there's the frustration of that, and then all the rest, and
it all adds up. "So the radio doesn't always.. in this case,
probably, but the radio is not always the real picture." Ferrari
recovery Strategic faults have been a theme of Ferrari's season,
with extra emphasis being on the right plan due to its performance
difficulties. The situation in Miami between Leclerc and Hamilton
was avoidable, as both drivers ended up paying a price. Leclerc was
not annoyed that Hamilton failed to build a gap after initially
being allowed past, although the Monegasque has called for better
communication. "No, I just think we maybe should have discussed a
little bit more before doing the swap, because obviously you are
trying to go to the end with those tyres," said Leclerc. "So I'm
trying to do a good job with my tyres, and then everything is
tricky. Then I did not expect Carlos [Sainz] to be so close. So all
of this made the situation a little bit trickier. "But again, I
think there's plenty for us to look at. And as I said, we need to
do a step, and we need to be robust enough that whenever we find
ourselves in those situations, we do better."
