Leclerc explains 'huge' Ferrari problems: 'We need to find solutions'

Charles Leclerc was left frustrated with Ferrari's race pace in the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix after claiming P7 in a difficult race.

Ferrari and Leclerc had hoped for more from their US race after introducing a range of car updates ahead of the weekend.

After promising Friday pace, Leclerc's outside chances of Pole Position were ended by a crash in the third and final part of qualifying, a repeat of his crash in an earlier practice session.

Starting P7, the Monegasque was unable to progress in the race, with his opening stint hampered by a battle with Haas' Kevin Magnussen.

The Ferrari driver was also passed by a recovering Lewis Hamilton, who had started the race down in thirteenth place.

Leclerc bemoans 'narrow' performance window

Along with the usual tyre wear issues that Ferrari have faced in 2023, Leclerc was left to rue a car that suffered from balance issues and bottoming out (dragging) on the tarmac.

"We have been struggling all day. It's a very similar picture to the beginning of the year: We are competitive in qualifying, but once we come to race day we are struggling like crazy," Leclerc told media.

"The window of our car is so narrow, and whenever you get a little bit out [of the window], it has huge consequences on the balance.

"It's from one corner to the other, and even in one corner sometimes you can have huge understeer, which then goes to huge oversteer, and this is obviously not ideal to have confidence in the car.

"Plus I had a lot of bottoming for some reason which I don't have an explanation for yet. We'll have to check the car. It's just the consistency that we are lacking at the moment, and we'll try and work on that.

"We have a lot of work to do. We need to find something now because we've been struggling in the races for a little bit of time now. So, we need to come up with solutions."