Lewis Hamilton saved Ferrari with genius call in unheard Miami Grand Prix radio message

Lewis Hamilton made it two podiums in two Sprints with a third place at the Miami Grand Prix. He had been on course for P6 at best.

Hamilton was due to start seventh, but Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc crashed on the lap to the grid. Leclerc, on intermediate tyres, aquaplaned into the barriers on the first DRS straight.

While he made it to the starting grid, Hamilton complained that he couldn’t turn the car once the delayed race eventually got underway. He lost touch with the two Mercedes cars ahead of him and was battling to hold off the Williams of Alex Albon.

But the seven-time world champion was one of the first cars to pit for dry tyres as the intermediates started to overheat. And it totally changed the complexion of his race.

Hamilton overtook Max Verstappen, who lost his front-wing endplate in a pit lane incident. Fernando Alonso’s crash then saw the race finish behind the safety car, ensuring he held onto P3.

Lewis Hamilton told Ferrari to put soft tyres on in Miami Grand Prix Sprint

Hamilton’s Ferrari engineer Riccardo Adami initially felt it was too late to make the switch to slick tyres. There were only a handful of laps remaining, offering limited time to offset the pit-lane time loss.

But Hamilton suggested that it was worth the risk as he struggled on the inters. The team’s initial instinct was to bolt on medium tyres.

Their new signing insisted on the soft, though, perhaps because he’d be able to fire them up quicker. Had he not stated his case, he may not have scored points at all.

The exchange went as follows.

Hamilton: “It’s too late to go for dries, right?”

Adami: “Yeah.”

Hamilton: “I mean I’ve got no grip out here, so the time would be now.”

Adami: “Okay, box for medium.”

Hamilton: “No, soft mate. Soft!”

Ferrari have been criticised for strategic weaknesses relative to the other top teams. Their drivers have occasionally had to take charge of the situation.

Riccardo Adami left Lewis Hamilton frustrated with ‘really confusing’ Miami radio

BBC presenter Jennie Gow noted that Hamilton was giving short answers in the press conference on Thursday. He sounded almost as forlorn as he had been in Saudi Arabia two weeks earlier.

The smile was back on his face after this unexpected podium. His performances in Grand Prix qualifying and the race itself will dictate whether it stays there.

While he’s been open about his own limitations this season, it’s clear that Hamilton wants more from Riccardo Adami. It’s the first time since 2013 that he’s working with a new race engineer.

During Friday’s Sprint qualifying session, Hamilton criticised Adami’s ‘really confusing’ communication. This will likely come up in the team’s debriefs.