Lewis Hamilton handed Ferrari a podium in the F1 Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix, yet it was hastily forgotten about after a challenging race and some tetchy radio messages.
The 40-year-old has endured a largely disappointing start to his Scuderia career after joining Ferrari from Mercedes this year. But the Sprint last Saturday showed Hamilton can still enjoy strong results if things click for the Briton, as he continues to adapt to a very different home.
Hamilton asked Ferrari to pit him for soft tyres in the Miami Sprint when the track conditions started to improve. It was a great decision as the seven-time champion jumped up the order after being stuck behind Mercedes star George Russell by stopping earlier than most drivers.
But, just like when Hamilton won the Shanghai Sprint from pole position before securing P6 prior to Ferrari’s double disqualification in the Chinese GP, the Briton failed to carry his pace into the race. The Stevenage native could only secure an eighth-place finish in the Miami GP.
Ferrari found Lewis Hamilton qualifying P12 for the Miami GP after his Sprint podium ‘indigestible’
Ferrari even found it ‘indigestible’ that Hamilton would qualify in 12th for the Miami GP, just three hours after he came third in the Sprint. The 104-time Grand Prix pole-sitter bowed out in Q2 after posting a best time of a 1:27.006 to Haas driver Esteban Ocon’s 1:26.967 for P10.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
| 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 |
That is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which reports that the Scuderia were in disbelief at Hamilton’s struggles during qualifying for the Miami GP. Even though Ferrari also accept that his F1 Sprint podium largely came due to his early pit stop instead of solely his performance.
Damon Hill saw Hamilton struggle in qualifying for the Miami GP after repeatedly locking up into Turn 17 to nearly bow out in Q1. The Briton needed an extra bite of the cherry to get in Q2, where he continued to lock up at T17 and failed to reach Q3 for the first time for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton accused Ferrari of having a ‘tea break’ with one radio message in Miami
His qualifying issues were not only of the Briton’s creation last Saturday, however, as Ferrari confused Hamilton as he failed to get out of Q2 in Miami. The Scuderia refusing to give him a new set of soft tyres for his second Q2 run perplexed the Briton given he needed the grip.
It set the tone for a disgruntled affair during the Miami GP on Sunday, too, as Hamilton had some tetchy radio messages while Ferrari tried to sort out team orders with Charles Leclerc. The Briton failed to hide his increasing levels of anger at the Scuderia’s dithering in the race.
Hamilton emerged as clearly Ferrari’s faster driver following the pit stop phase having taken on medium tyres whilst Leclerc had to change onto the hards. But the Scuderia hesitated to tell the Monegasque to switch places, causing the Briton to lose the edge of his softer tyres.
Ferrari ultimately swapped their drivers around, yet only after Hamilton groaned ‘have a tea break while you’re at it’, having initially been told to hold station behind Leclerc. They would also swap back as he failed to make substantial gains on Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.
Team boss Fred Vasseur immediately spoke to Hamilton after the Miami GP to diffuse any tension from Ferrari’s team order saga. But their public bickering amid the Scuderia’s initial delay cost both of their drivers the chance to finish higher than P7 and P8 in the Miami GP.
