Lewis Hamilton left speechless in unheard radio message by two Ferrari issues at the Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari are facing the prospect of having one of their worst seasons in years after another tough weekend at the Miami Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton saved Ferrari’s blushes in the Sprint Race, finishing third behind both McLaren drivers after Charles Leclerc hit the barriers on his way to the grid in treacherous conditions.

However, Sunday’s race at the Miami Grand Prix was where the serious points were being handed out and Ferrari once again floundered.

Hamilton couldn’t even reach Q3 while Leclerc started the race behind both Williams drivers.

The decision Ferrari made not to use Hamilton’s spare set of soft tyres confused the seven-time world champion, but not as much the team’s radio messages during Sunday’s race.

Martin Brundle was surprised by Ferrari’s lack of clarity while speaking to Hamilton and Leclerc as they worked out who needed track position in their attempts to chase down Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Ultimately, neither driver could catch the Mercedes rookie, and Hamilton was lucky to survive a late challenge from Carlos Sainz going into the final braking zone of the race.

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Lewis Hamilton’s unheard Miami Grand Prix radio messages will concern Ferrari

On lap 26 of the race, Hamilton was coming to the end of his first stint of the race.

He and many of his rivals benefitted from the virtual safety car coming out to deal with Oliver Bearman’s stricken Haas car after he suffered a mechanical issue.

However, Hamilton wasn’t happy and on the team radio, he was heard saying, “How is this pace? I can’t really go any quicker.”

His race engineer Riccardo Adami reassured him and said, “Now it’s 32.6, and Charles 32.7.”

Hamilton replied, “My tyres are pretty poor. In general, a little bit of understeer here, but I don’t know what to say.”

Later in the race, Hamilton sarcastically told Ferrari to ‘take a tea break’ while they decided whether to swap him with Leclerc while he was on the softer tyre compound.

Hamilton was surprisingly upbeat after the race, suggesting that the team are closer to knowing what might be going wrong with the SF-25.

Team principal Fred Vasseur had to intercept Hamilton at the chequered flag, presumably to conduct a very quick post-race debrief before he faced the press.

When he was eventually told to hand the place back with Antonelli out of sight, he couldn’t help but suggest whether he should be allowing the oncoming Sainz to pass him too.

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Lewis Hamilton lauds Ferrari’s ‘solid steps’ after eighth-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix

Speaking in his official media session after the race, Hamilton explained, “Overall, we’ve made some solid steps forward this weekend.

“P8 isn’t where we aim to be of course, and there are definitely learnings to take moving forward, but considering where we started it was a decent recovery.

“I’m starting to feel more at one with the car, which is encouraging, and I’m as motivated as ever to be fighting at the front.

“We’re still lacking a bit of pace, but everyone is working incredibly hard behind the scenes and we’re hopeful of making progress in the coming races. We’ll just keep pushing and stay focused on the work ahead.”

Ferrari have to come up with a solution as to why they’re so slow compared to the likes of McLaren and Red Bull.

While other teams in the midfield can afford to switch focus to 2026, Ferrari’s reputation demands that they constantly challenge for victory, no matter how unlucky it is.