Ferrari endured a difficult race in the Miami Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished in seventh and eighth place.
Hamilton was recovering after dropping out of the top 10 in qualifying, with Ferrari putting him on the alternate strategy by starting on the hard tyre.
Midway through the race he caught up with Leclerc who started on the medium and used the hard at the end, and Hamilton felt he had more pace to catch up to Andrea Kimi Antonelli for P6.
The seven-time world champion ended up pleading with Ferrari to swap the cars, which happened in the final laps of the race. However, by this point the Ferrari’s were five seconds behind Antonelli.
Although Hamilton closed the gap to within 2.5 seconds to the Mercedes, it was too late for him to make a move. Ferrari instructed their drivers to swap back after Leclerc went faster, consigning them to P7 and P8 at the chequred flag.
Fans took to social media websites X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to voice their displeasure with how Ferrari handled the situation with Hamilton.
Ferrari fans fume at team after ’embarrassing’ Miami Grand Prix
Hamilton felt he should have been given priority given he was on the alternate strategy, and fans on social media agree.
One fan felt Hamilton was right to call out Ferrari: “Honestly this is needed. Someone with a big voice such as Lewis telling exactly how it is at Ferrari, maybe JUST maybe they will finally change something because this has been going on since their last championship …… it needs to be called out, it’s embarrassing.”
Another fan said: “The strategy will get more light when you got LH! It’s time Ferrari get their strategy right. Should mention their pit stops have been quite good this year.”
Fans also felt that Hamilton highlighted there are still communication issues at Ferrari, having struggled with their strategy over the years.
One fan wrote: “I don’t blame Lewis at all!!!! Horrible communication on the pit wall. Delayed decisions, cooked his tires for nearly 5 laps when he was on the faster strategy. What a wasted opportunity.”
While another fan said: “Ferrari has lots of issues and it’s not their drivers. Poor strategy, failure to acknowledge the shortcomings of the car which is now so behind”
“Ferrari strategists incapable of making fast decisions. Good on Lewis for airing his real feelings on the situation. All this drama and Charles was ok to swap,” wrote one fan.
Another fan felt it has become a trend at Ferrari: “He’s shown to Ferrari how to take a decision when the moment requires. They have been doing this throughout the hybrid era.”
Martin Brundle stunned by Lewis Hamilton radio messages
Hamilton was frustrated with the situation at Ferrari over team radio, reminding his engineer Riccardo Adami that he had moved out of the way for Leclerc in China.
Martin Brundle was left stunned by the messages from Hamilton, feeling the decision to swap the drivers came too late to catch Antonelli.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
203 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
118 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
92 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
84 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
25 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
20 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
14 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
8 |
| 9 |
Alpine F1 Team |
7 |
| 10 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
Ferrari leaves Miami 11 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings, a team that changed its driver lineup two races into the season and whose had the bulk of their points scored by Max Verstappen.
