Lewis Hamilton is still waiting to stand on a Formula 1 podium for the first time as a Ferrari driver after the first six race weekends of the 2025 season.
Despite having a Sprint Race win in China and securing P3 in Saturday’s race at the Miami Grand Prix, a quirk of how Formula 1 celebrates these shortened races means that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t made his way up onto the rostrum yet this year.
He’s a small step behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, but even the Monegasque driver only has one podium finish to his name in 2025.
The race in Miami was always going to be an uphill struggle for Hamilton after failing to progress to the top 10 shootout in qualifying.
He was less than one-tenth slower than Leclerc, but Ferrari’s middling pace meant that was enough for both Williams drivers and Haas’ Esteban Ocon to knock him out.
Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s tyre strategy in qualifying, but that turned out to be an interesting pre-cursor to the issues he and Leclerc faced in the race.
It led to Martin Brundle questioning Ferrari’s radio messages during Sunday’s race and Damon Hill hearing Hamilton say something for the first time in his storied Formula 1 career.
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Damon Hill admits hearing Lewis Hamilton being sarcastic at the Miami Grand Prix for the first time
Hill was talking to commentator Harry Benjamin on the Chequered Flag Podcast in the aftermath of the race in Miami.
Reflecting on the Scuderia’s difficult weekend, Benjamin said, “We speak of Ferrari, Charles Leclerc seventh, Lewis Hamilton eighth.
“They were keeping us entertained, weren’t they, in the latter half of the Grand Prix, Damon?
“Hamilton and his radio exchanges to his team, what was your read on that? Trying to get Ferrari to hurry up and make a decision, because at the end, it was a tyre disparity between the two drivers and they wanted to chase down Antonelli and Hamilton, thought he was quicker.”
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
131 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
115 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
99 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
93 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
53 |
| 6 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
41 |
| 8 |
Alexander Albon |
30 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
14 |
| 10 |
Lance Stroll |
14 |
Hill replied, “He was being quite sarcastic, I thought, which I’ve never really heard from Lewis.
“It was quite funny. I hope the Italians appreciate the humour, but he definitely put them on the spot.
“There has been a lot of very strange and kind of muddled messages from Ferrari and he’s maybe shaking that up and going, OK, guys, you can’t do this to me. Make a decision or I’ll make one for you.”
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Lewis Hamilton’s unheard Miami Grand Prix radio message highlight Ferrari’s struggles
Once Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had cleared Max Verstappen at the front of the race, they opened up a significant gap over the rest of the field.
Leclerc finished 57 seconds behind Piastri at the conclusion of the 57-lap race, showing just how significant the gap is between Ferrari and McLaren.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 25 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 18 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 15 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 12 |
| 5 | Alex Albon | Williams | 10 |
| 6 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 8 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 6 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 4 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 2 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 1 |
Hamilton’s unbroadcast messages to Ferrari before his pit stop made it clear that the car simply wasn’t at the level that he expected.
The season is petering out for Ferrari, and team principal Fred Vasseur will be under pressure soon if a solution isn’t found.
Hamilton was positive after the race, but it will be interesting to see how his radio messages went down with senior figures within Ferrari as he showed up their lack of clarity in front of the watching world.
