Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had a nerve-wracking moment before securing pole position in the 2023 United States Grand Prix qualifying session at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Friday, October 20.
Initially, reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull edged past Leclerc for provisional pole by a mere 0.005 seconds. However, his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Ferrari's race engineer, Marcos Padros (Xavi), delivered the update to the five-time race winner, saying, "So, lap time deleted for Verstappen."
The 24-year-old momentarily paused before responding, "For f**k's sake, tell me the name before," indicating that he initially believed his lap had been invalidated by race control.
poor charles, xavi gave him a goddamn heart attack ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/fGqT1kPfe8
— vic jurÃdico carlos sainz corinthiano (@SCUDESAINZ) October 20, 2023
Leclerc nearly had a heart attack from the engineer's message
The Ferrari star candidly confessed that he experienced a near heart attack upon receiving the news.
"I just had a heart attack because my engineer told me, 'Track limits,' and then, 'For Verstappen.' And when I heard 'track limits,' I punched the steering wheels and my helmet, and then I heard 'for Verstappen,' and then I was, 'OK, that's better news for us!" Leclerc shared after the qualifying session.
Leclerc will start Sunday's race in front, with McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton behind him. Meanwhile, Verstappen will start at P6.
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