Charles Leclerc was unflinching in his self-assessment after the Miami Grand Prix, admitting a final-lap lunge on Oscar Piastri threw away what he believes was a podium-bound result.
The Monegasque had run third for much of the race before a Turn 3 attempt to use his battery boost ended with a left-front impact on the wall, contact with George Russell, and a 20-second post-race penalty. He crossed the line sixth and was demoted to eighth.
"It's all on me. I don't have much to add other than that. Very disappointed with my mistake," Leclerc said.
"It was a very poor decision, and in the space of four corners I put a very strong race in the bin."
He framed the lunge as a move that had been working all season.
"I pushed like an animal in Turn 3, and most of the time this year it went through. This time it didn't, and I'm disappointed in myself," he said.
"I think that without the mistake, I could have done a podium. I am very frustrated about that."
The more concerning issue, however, sits with the team. Ferrari brought 11 upgrades to Miami and the early signs were promising - then the pace evaporated overnight.
"On the medium [tyres] we weren't strong. We were degrading a massive amount," Leclerc said.
"On the hard, it wasn't great at the beginning, then it picked up, and then it was a little bit better, but it was never at the level of yesterday [the Sprint]."
The Monegasque is calling for an immediate post-mortem.
"We need to look at it. We've lost a lot of performance compared to yesterday, and I would like to understand exactly what happened there," he said.
He is, however, not yet labelling the drop a structural Ferrari problem.
"I don't think it's a pattern, but let's wait a few more races and understand if it is. But I don't have that feeling," Leclerc said.
Lewis Hamilton's race was already compromised by Turn 1 contact with Franco Colapinto that cost him 20 points of downforce. Together, the two stories paint Ferrari's Miami trip as one of the most expensive weekends of the year - with Canada now demanding answers on race pace.
