Fred Vasseur defends Charles Leclerc after Miami Q3 crash: "When you fight for pole, you have to push"

The wrong red car
The Miami Grand Prix qualifying session ended in the sign of the color red, but not in the way in which Ferrari and the Tifosi had hoped for. Charles Leclerc’s accident in his second Q3 attempt, after the Monegasque driver had already risked hitting the wall in his first timed lap, forced the Race Direction to suspend the qualifying session, effectively ending the duel and giving Sergio Perez his second pole position of the 2023 Formula One season.

A mistake, Charles Leclerc’s final one, driven by his desperate desire to set a great lap time. The Monegasque driver was indeed the fastest on track before his crash at Turn 7 and Frederic Vasseur wanted to defend the Maranello #16, justifying his great fervor that pushed him too far.

Beyond the limit
“I think Charles was at the limit,” said the French team principal to Sky Sport F1 Italy microphones. “In his first attempt, he set the best time in sectors 1 and 2. He was fighting for the pole, but it went as it went. Without a doubt (the accident) is a shame because he had the pace to be on the front row. When you’re fighting for the pole, you have to push, and you can’t say he pushed too much. Last year, when he had a problem, people said he had to push. Now that he does, people say he pushes too much, but that’s okay.” – the Ferrari boss explained.

Frederic Vasseur’s defense
What Fred Vasseur seems to want to instill in his drivers is the peace of mind to be able to give everything without having to fear the possibility of making mistakes: “I don’t want to say that it’s positive to drive at the limit,” he emphasized, “but it’s better than ending the qualifying saying ‘if I had pushed more, it would have gone better.’ ” However, in terms of the race, what worries the dreams of the French manager more than Charles Leclerc’s starting position are the weather forecasts: “We have to look at the weather for tomorrow because the forecasts are not positive,” warned the former Sauber boss.

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Remount objective
Fortunately, Charles Leclerc’s car should not be too damaged by the impact against the barriers: “I haven’t seen Charles’ car,” Fred Vasseur concluded, “we’ll have to check the rear, but it should be okay for tomorrow. The pace from the beginning of the qualifying was good. The session’s outcome was certainly not good, but the pace was there, both for Carlos and Charles. Our top speed compared to Red Bull doesn’t give us an advantage, but we have to try to make up for it. It will be a long race with weather forecasts at the limit, but we can have the pace to move up. Carlos had the pace and didn’t do his best lap in Q3; he had done better in Q2. Now we have to reset everything for tomorrow.” – the French manager pointed out after the qualifying session in Miami.