Lewis Hamilton has delivered a harsh critique of Ferrari’s current performance in Formula 1, following a disappointing result in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. The British driver failed to make it past Q2, highlighting that Ferrari is now battling teams like Williams rather than competing with the top frontrunners it was expected to challenge this season.
With McLaren, Mercedes, and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull showing strong performances at the Miami International Autodrome, Ferrari seemed resigned to finishing fourth quickest—but they have not even been able to keep pace with those teams.
Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate, managed to make it into Q3 but still found himself outpaced by the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, finishing in eighth, just behind them.
Despite his lackluster qualifying performance, Hamilton secured a strong third-place finish in the sprint race, improving from seventh on the grid (sixth after his teammate’s crash prevented him from starting). However, Hamilton admitted that Ferrari’s strategy to switch to slick tires early, as the track dried, only masked the underlying issues with the car’s pace.
“Yeah, definitely,” Hamilton responded when asked if his sprint podium had provided a confidence boost. “It’s nice, but in terms of pure pace, we’re being out-qualified by Williams, who are doing an amazing job. James Vowles and his team are really performing well… But in terms of raw pace, that’s where we are.”
Ferrari’s Costly Mistake
Hamilton has had a difficult time adjusting to life at Ferrari, often struggling to match Leclerc’s pace, though the two were much closer in qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix. Despite qualifying in P12, Hamilton was just under six-hundredths of a second behind Leclerc in Q2.
Reflecting on the session, the 40-year-old driver revealed a costly mistake made by Ferrari that contributed to his early exit from the grid-setting session. “Charles was lucky to get through with that lap,” Hamilton explained. “I think he did a new tire run and just got it through. I had an extra new tire set available too. We should have used that.”