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Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2022 F1 Miami GP, pipping rival Max Verstappen on his final Q3 lap. The Monegasque driver will be joined on the front row by his teammate Carlos Sainz in P2.
Saturday's qualifying session for the inaugural 2022 was full of twists and turns, with the battle between Verstappen and Leclerc being the constant theme throughout the weekend. The Ferrari driver had to give his all in the session, having made a brutal mistake in the closing stages of Imola's race. Despite his epic pole lap, the 24-year-old is well aware of Red Bull's straight-line speed advantage, making him vulnerable to constant threat from Verstappen.
Speaking to former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick after the session, Charles Leclerc said:
“Last weekend wasn’t great for me. I made a mistake in the race, but today went well. We are starting on pole and we need to finish the job tomorrow. Red Bull are extremely quick in the straight lines. We are quick in the corners. It will be a tight challenge tomorrow and hopefully we will come out on top.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes seem to have a better understanding of their porpoising problems, with Lewis Hamilton finishing P6 at the end of Q3. George Russell, however, failed to find a good pace in Q2 and was eliminated despite having topped the time charts in FP2.
Charles Leclerc admits taking unnecessary risks in Imola
Charles Leclerc has admitted that he should have been content with P3 at the 2022 F1 Imola GP. He felt he shouldn't have gone on the offensive and made the error that cost him a podium finish. The Monegasque driver tried to catch Red Bull's Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the race before losing control of the car on the Variante Alta.
The Ferrari driver has claimed the incident has changed his mindset and will make him rethink his decisions going forward. Speaking to the press, he said:
“Again, looking back at it, it is always this balance that you need to find as a driver and how much risk you are going to take and how much reward it is going to give you. Taking the second place that day was something that was not expected and it would have been great, but it didn’t happen and I lost a few points. It’s something I will continue to think about and maybe change the approach in those situations.”
Charles Leclerc still holds a 27-point lead over Max Verstappen and has now put himself in the best possible position to increase that gap. With the Dutchman's straight-line speed advantage and sharp race craft in play, only time will tell which of the two current championship protagonists will come out on top.
