Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc admits ‘anger’ at Miami GP incident with Mercedes driver

Leclerc after P3 in Sprint Miami — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari star admits ‘anger’ at Miami GP incident with Mercedes driver

Charles Leclerc had some choice words for an F1 rival in Miami

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Monday 4 May 2026 12:54

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Ferrari star Charles Leclerc has admitted that he got more heated than he intended at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.

Speaking on his team radio after briefly fighting for position with teenager Kimi Antonelli early in Saturday's sprint race, the Monegasque had some harsh words for the championship leader.

“Kimi is so bad on wheel to wheel," he fumed to his race engineer. "He moved under braking, it’s unbelievable we’re going to crash.”

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Leclerc struck a much more conciliatory tone in his press conference after the 19-lap sprint, admitting he'd been 'too harsh' in his complaints in the heat of the moment, having been 'quite angry' behind the wheel.

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Asked if he believes that Antonelli's wheel-to-wheel racing is a genuine weakness, he admitted: “No, I was being a bit harsh maybe, with the adrenaline inside the car.

“It’s true that we’ve had our moments with Kimi in the past and I hope this calms down a little bit going ahead, especially as he’s the only Italian driver on the grid against Ferrari. I wish it was with someone else, and I really like Kimi also as a person.

"No, it’s just sometimes a little bit too close for comfort and not really needed as well. So, in this particular case, I was quite angry in the car, but the comments were probably a bit too harsh.”

Antonelli had a tricky sprint all round on Saturday, ending up sixth after a penalty for track limits violations, but bounced back almost immediately to take pole for Sunday's grand prix, in which he took a battling victory.

Leclerc, meanwhile, had less fortune. He spent much of his race battling for third (despite having led out of the first corner melee), before losing control and crashing on the final lap. He nursed a damaged car home in sixth place.

F1 Charles Leclerc Kimi Antonelli Miami Grand Prix