Charles Leclerc is looking for answers after Ferrari “lost a lot of performance” come Grand Prix Sunday in Miami.
Leclerc has called on Ferrari to investigate this drop in pace, having fallen away from victory contention as the Miami Grand Prix progressed. Leclerc’s day grew more frustrating still when a 20-second penalty dropped him from sixth to eighth in the final classification.
Charles Leclerc questions Ferrari Miami GP performance drop
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Leclerc took the lead at the start of the Miami GP, and spent the opening stages squabbling with the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, before Lando Norris also joined the P1 battle.
Antonelli and Norris would ultimately pull away from Leclerc, leaving him in a tussle for the final podium place.
As the penultimate lap began, Oscar Piastri snatched third from Leclerc at Turn 17. Leclerc then went spinning at Turn 3, hitting the wall, as he began his last lap, banged wheels with George Russell at T17, and lost out to Verstappen at the line, dropping to a P6 finish.
Things got worse for Leclerc, who was deemed by the stewards to have left the track and gained a lasting advantage multiple times, having cut the chicanes in bringing his wounded Ferrari home.
He was hit with a drive-through penalty, converted to 20 seconds, dropping him to eighth.
Having seen a promising situation to fight for a win unravel, Leclerc wants a Ferrari investigation, and answers.
“On the medium [tyres] we weren’t strong. We were degrading a massive amount,” Leclerc reflected with PlanetF1.com and other accredited media.
“On the hard, it wasn’t great at the beginning, then it picked up, and then it was a little bit better, but it was never at the level of yesterday [the Sprint].
“We need to look at it. We’ve lost a lot of performance compared to yesterday, and I would like to understand exactly what happened there.”
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It was put to Leclerc that this is not the first F1 2026 example of Ferrari’s pace dropping off during a grand prix.
He was asked whether he believes a pattern is emerging.
“I don’t think it’s a pattern,” he stated, “but let’s wait a few more races and understand if it is.
“But I don’t have that feeling.”
Leclerc remains third in the Drivers’ Championship standings after Miami, but is now 41 points behind leader Antonelli.
Ferrari are 70 points behind Constructors’ Championship leaders Mercedes.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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