Miami GP: Hamilton’s Sprint High and Qualifying Low as Ferrari Struggles Persist

Lewis Hamilton experienced a weekend of stark contrasts at the Miami Grand Prix, a pattern that has become representative of the early stages of his Ferrari tenure. A moment of triumph in the Sprint race quickly gave way to disappointment following an early exit in the main Qualifying session.

Since his high-profile move to the Italian Scuderia after 12 successful years at Mercedes, Hamilton seemed to find his footing by securing pole position and winning the Sprint at the season`s second event in China back in late March.

However, that success was followed by a disqualification from the full Chinese Grand Prix due to a technical infraction on his car. In the subsequent three races, his best qualifying result was merely seventh, with a top race finish of fifth, consistently trailing his teammate Charles Leclerc.

In Miami, Saturday`s Sprint race offered a temporary reprieve for the seven-time world champion. A strategic decision to switch from intermediate to slick tires on a drying track allowed him to climb from sixth place to finish third behind the McLarens.

Although this result only yielded six championship points and didn`t improve his seventh-place standing in the drivers` championship, Hamilton expressed genuine happiness about the positive outcome after what he described as “a tough year so far.”

Hamilton`s Strategy Call Driven by Extreme Difficulty

While Hamilton was pleased with the Sprint result, he acknowledged that it was largely thanks to a timely strategy gamble rather than inherent car pace.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he explained that the decision to pit was his, born out of the extreme difficulty he was facing on the intermediate tires. “I was losing pace and I couldn`t keep up with the guys ahead,” he said, describing the tires as “grained front and rear,” leaving him as a “passenger.”

“I was seeing the dry line, and I thought `we have to do something otherwise I will lose more places`,” Hamilton added. He wished he had pitted one lap earlier but was ultimately glad he made the call, noting the car felt significantly better afterwards and a third-place finish from seventh on the grid was “good work.”

Leclerc`s absence from the Sprint due to a pre-race crash on his out-lap in heavy rain made it difficult to gauge Ferrari`s true potential heading into Grand Prix qualifying.

Reality Check in Qualifying

Despite Hamilton`s modest satisfaction with the Sprint, what transpired in qualifying was arguably as poor as feared. He barely scraped through Q1, using an extra set of fresh soft tires in the final moments after a significant lock-up ruined his initial run.

Given the struggles in Q1, it was not entirely surprising when a poor second run in Q2, marked by another lock-up at Turn 17, resulted in his elimination and a disappointing 12th position on the grid.

Hamilton tried to maintain a positive facade but confessed to Sky Sports F1 that Ferrari is struggling to comprehend their issues as they significantly fall short of their pre-season aspirations of being title contenders.

“We will keep trying. We are only six races in but we are struggling big time,” Hamilton stated. “We are trying our hardest not to make big set-up changes but no matter what we do it`s so inconsistent every time we go out.”

“We have problems with brakes, problems with this instability that we are struggling with and we are generally not quick enough. Just to get through to Q3 is tough for us,” he elaborated. Starting further back makes scoring points difficult, but he is “used to it” and will keep trying, including working with the factory team next week.

Leclerc`s Misery Deepens Ferrari`s Concerns

In previous rounds, Charles Leclerc had shown signs of adapting to the SF-25, securing successive fourth-place finishes in Japan and Bahrain, followed by the team`s first Grand Prix podium of the season in Saudi Arabia. However, the Monegasque driver expressed disappointment with the car`s performance on Friday in Miami and confirmed after qualifying eighth on Saturday that he felt the car was performing at its worst of the season.

“There was something strange in qualifying, something off. I was completely out of the window of the car for some reason,” Leclerc commented.

He explained that they had to make significant changes to the car setup from Q1 to Q3, which is “very unusual,” but it “never felt good and the performance of the car has been very bad.”

Leclerc described the feeling with the car as “not great” and “frustrating” because “when you do your best and the best is P8, with a Ferrari it hurts and the two Williams in front of us, I didn`t do any mistakes… we are just not fast enough.”

When asked if it was his worst experience of the season, Leclerc affirmed, “Yes.” He added that the Miami track, with its many low-speed corners, highlights the areas where Ferrari is currently struggling most.

Ferrari`s primary hope for Sunday`s race appears to rely on the possibility of rain causing further chaos, but even that might not be sufficient. It seems highly probable that the team will face immense pressure heading into the first of their two home races at Imola in two weeks, needing to reverse a discouraging start to the 2025 season.