Leclerc beat Verstappen in two sectors. He still lost.

Sector 2 at Miami runs from Turn 6 through Turn 11 — the chicane complex and the run down the back straight. Verstappen was two-tenths faster there every lap. Leclerc clawed it back at the start of the lap, through the tight corners and elevation changes, and he matched Verstappen through the final sector. But every time they crossed the line, Verstappen had banked another 0.22 seconds.

Over 57 laps, that compounds. Leclerc's overall lap time average was 0.177 seconds slower. He started second. He finished third.

Leclerc pitted on Lap 19, four laps before Verstappen. The undercut didn't work. When Verstappen came out on fresh hard tyres on Lap 24, the gap was 23 seconds — the largest margin of the race. Leclerc never got within striking distance again.

The Ferrari was faster in the slow-speed sections. It was faster through the final complex. None of it mattered because the Red Bull disappeared down the straights.

At Imola, there are fewer straights. The circuit rewards mechanical grip and corner speed — exactly where Leclerc found four-tenths at Miami. If Ferrari can carry that advantage to a track that doesn't punish it, the conversation changes.

But Miami was never going to be their day. You can't win a race on Sector 1 alone.