Scuderia Ferrari HP comes away from the Miami Grand Prix with a result which does not reflect the true potential of the SF-26, here running with its first aero update package of the season. At the Miami International Autodrome, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both fought long and hard, the pair involved in various incidents, on the final and opening laps respectively.
The race. Charles delivered a very solid performance for much of the race. From third on the grid, he took the lead at the start by taking advantage of the tussle between Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. He stayed among the leaders even after the Safety Car triggered by crashes involving Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly. He pitted on lap 21 and fought his way back up through traffic with a string of overtakes, which took him to third once he had passed George Russell and Verstappen. However, overtaking the Dutchman cost him considerable time which allowed Oscar Piastri to close the gap. The Australian was tucked into the Ferrari’s slipstream with two laps to go and attacked at the final corner on the penultimate lap. Charles tried to defend to claim a podium finish, but he pushed very hard and spun at Turn 3, hitting the barriers. He still managed to take the chequered flag, but had to settle for sixth place.
Lewis also put up a strong fight, but his race was affected by a collision after the start with Franco Colapinto, which left his SF-26 with a damaged floor and right sidepod, which cost him some aero downforce. Hamilton still managed to run at a respectable pace, running in the points for a long time, eventually finishing seventh, behind his team-mate.
Next stop, Canada. The result leaves a sense of regret given the performance potential seen on track. However, there are several positives to take away from the weekend such as the starts which continue to be excellent and the upgrades, which worked as expected, bringing extra performance to the package. The opportunity to bounce back comes in three weeks’ time, at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Penalty for Charles. Charles and Lewis finish in sixth and seventh place respectively. After the race, however, Charles is handed a 20-second penalty, which drops him to eighth, while Lewis moves up to sixth.
Charles Leclerc #16
The start and race overall went well and we were fighting for the podium. At the end, unfortunately, I made a mistake that cost me several positions. That’s on me and I will make sure I don’t repeat it again.
We will take the time we have in this short break before our next race in Canada to review and take some steps forward.
Lewis Hamilton #44
Today’s race was affected by what happened on the opening lap, and with the damage I sustained, P7 was the best result we could achieve. Overall, it was a challenging weekend, but I believe we have a good car and there are some positives to take away. We just need to keep pushing, both at the factory and at the track, to keep adding performance and close the gap as we move forward.
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal
Overall, it was a challenging Sunday on both sides of the garage. With Lewis, the race was largely about managing the damage from lap one, which meant dealing with overheating and doing a lot of lift and coast just to bring the car to the finish. On Charles’ side, the pace was strong in clean air and we were fighting at the front, but once we dropped into traffic it became more difficult and consistency was the main issue. There was a big performance delta between the part when Charles was leading and the later part of the race. It is something we need to look into, because it was a similar picture in yesterday’s Sprint.
However, there are some positives to take from the weekend: the starts were good and the upgrades worked as expected. We know where we need to improve – consistency, managing traffic and extracting the full potential of the package.
