Charles Leclerc took his third pole position of the 2022 Formula 1 season at the Miami Grand Prix, beating teammate Carlos Sainz by just under two tenths in Q3. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, made a mistake on his last attempt and had to settle for third on the grid.
In an even start to the season between Ferrari and Red Bull, one of the strengths of the Austrian team was the top speed, key in the victory of the Dutchman in Saudi Arabia and the resistance of Sergio Pérez in Imola. The Scuderia, for its part, has had a general package that produces more downforce, but also more drag. As a result, the team showed up in Florida with a rear wing redesigned to make it smaller.
Despite everything, the RB18s still have a clear advantage in this area, so Leclerc does not expect it to be easy to contain Verstappen at the Miami Gardens track if they were able to activate the DRS. “If they are close to us it will be very difficult,” the Monegasque told the press.
“But we have that advantage in the corners which will hopefully make them too far behind to then have a chance to overtake on the straights. Only time will tell and we’ll see in the race. But the pace of the car is pretty solid, so we will focus on ourselves and see where we are,” added Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver also stopped by to confirm just how strong the 2022 car is, ensuring that it works in almost every direction since the start of the season. That was confirmed in Q3, in which the team saw its two drivers secure the front row of the Miami grid.
