Helmut Marko makes a sarcastic comment about Charles Leclerc’s crash in qualifying at F1 Miami Grand Prix
Leclerc brought out red flags which ended the session with 1m 37s remaining, meaning Red Bull’s Sergio Perez claimed pole while Max Verstappen was fꦐorced to settle for P9.
Ferrari driver Leclerc, who crashed in Friday practice and Saturday’s qualifying, drew the ire𒅌 of Red Bull consultant Marko.
"To put it sarcastically: 'You can't dr꧅ive ꦐout behind Leclerc’,” he told .
"Max was extremely unlucky. He went a little wide in the first run and then we should have come out of the pits earlie✅r.
“We would have 🉐had the speed. We don't need to wait for the track to improve any more.
"At least the first two rows would have beeꦅn safe.
“But iꦡt's a learning phase. We wanted to concentrate completely on the last run and get the best out of it.
“The later you go out, the better the track will♈ be. But in this case it wasn't that right decision.”
Reigning F1 champion Versta🌄ppen has bullishly claimed that he can turn a P9 start into a podium finish and challenge for the win.
That would mean another all-Red Bull battle w🐻ith his teammate Perez, who edged him to victory last week in Baku.
Perez has emerged as the likeliest threat to Verstappen’s title th꧂is season, a delicate situation t🐲hat Red Bull must manage.
"Pole positionཧ for Che🐭co, that's unbelievable,” Marko said.
“Here in Miami it's more or less a second 💖home race for him. In Miami they speak just as much Spanish as English.
“He implemented all of that well. He has learned 🐭in all phases. He is further on in terms of tyres, can concentrate more and in recent years he has always been half a second to a second behind Max started.&n𓆉bsp;
“You ca🐠n't get that out in the course of one or two training sessions.
“But he starts closer t𓃲o Max now and that's why he's always in the lead overall."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering ev♔erything from American sports, to football, to F1.
