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Riccardo Patrese feels Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was “wrong” to be “hard on himself” over his costly spin and time penalty on the final lap of the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix.
Leclerc blew his chance to secure a podium finish at Hard Rock Stadium last Sunday with his spin whilst chasing McLaren rival Oscar Piastri for the final place on the rostrum. His spin at Turn 3 also resulted in contact with the wall, which left him trying to get a broken car home.
In his haste to make the chequered flag, Leclerc repeatedly cut corners as he could not turn his Ferrari SF-26 enough to make the turns. He shortcut the circuit at Turns 6, 8, 11 and 15, and was ultimately overtaken before the finish line by George Russell and Max Verstappen.
Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto of Alpine were also classified ahead of Leclerc in the 2026 Miami GP, as the Monegasque received a 20-second penalty in lieu of a drive-through. The damage suffered from his spin did not lessen Leclerc’s corner-cutting.
Charles Leclerc drops to P8 after getting a 20-second penalty!
The Ferrari driver left the track on several occasions without a justifiable reason.
Riccardo Patrese thinks Charles Leclerc should not be so ‘hard on himself’, at least not ‘in public’
A lot of F1 fans felt Leclerc’s post-race penalty in Miami was “crazy”, as the damage he had sustained from spinning and hitting the wall meant he could not turn the car enough to take most of the corners. But Leclerc did not hold back and blamed himself for throwing P4 away.
READ MORE: The five worst moments of Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 career
Leclerc admitted after the Miami GP that he was “disappointed” with himself, as he “put a very strong race in the bin” with one late mistake. But former Williams F1 driver Patrese is adamant that Leclerc should not have been so hard on himself, at least never “in public”.
Patrese told Quotidiano Nazionale: “I think Charles is wrong to be too hard on himself. He shouldn’t beat himself up in public! He’s giving it his all. Ferrari need to give him the horsepower he’s lacking. With a competitive car, Leclerc can win the championship.”
What did Charles Leclerc say about his Miami GP penalty and spin?
Which F1 team were the biggest disappointment at the upgrade-heavy Miami Grand Prix? 📊
Data from @FDataAnalysis
Leclerc has always been very tough on himself throughout his career, and he will always look to hold himself to a very high standard. His mental coach, Riccardo Ceccarelli, says Leclerc does not let go of a mistake for “two days” if the Monegasque knows that he was the cause.
The 28-year-old’s response to his mistake blowing his chance to at least bag P4 in the Miami GP should not come as a surprise, then. Leclerc admitted straight after the race that he was “frustrated” with himself, having produced a big mistake that he feels should never happen.
Leclerc told Sky Sports: “It’s all on me, and I don’t have much to add other than that. Very disappointed with my mistake. It shouldn’t happen.
“I pushed very hard on the second to last lap, [as] I thought it was a good idea to kind of let Oscar go for me to get the overtake.
“I knew it was going to be very difficult to stay in front otherwise. But it was a very poor decision, and in the space of four corners, I put a very strong race in the bin. So, I’m very frustrated about that.”
Leclerc was only 0.7s behind Piastri when he spun through Turn 3 and almost saved his car in time to still finish the Miami GP in P4. But the Monegasque tagged the outside wall, just as he regained control, and suffered damage that allowed Russell to overturn a 14s deficit.
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