The 2026 Miami Grand Prix delivered a dramatic and painful outcome for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc saw a strong race unravel in the closing stages after a costly mistake that resulted in contact with the wall and a major loss of positions. The incident not only affected Charles Leclerc’s final classification but also left Lewis Hamilton visibly surprised by the final race result and the chaotic finishing order.
From the outset of the race, Charles Leclerc produced another aggressive and highly competitive start from third position, immediately capitalising on early chaos. As Kimi Antonelli ran wide and Max Verstappen spun in the opening phase of the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc briefly moved into the race lead, showcasing strong pace and excellent traction from the Ferrari package.
However, the situation quickly evolved as both Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris found their way past Charles Leclerc, with the Ferrari driver also questioning the timing of his pit stop during the opening stint. Despite losing positions, Charles Leclerc managed to recover track position later in the race, overtaking Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver had pitted early.
As Oscar Piastri closed in during the final phase of the race and eventually overtook Charles Leclerc for third position, the Ferrari driver came under increasing pressure. Shortly afterwards, Charles Leclerc made a critical error in the first sector, spinning and making contact with the barrier. The impact caused visible damage to the Ferrari and effectively ended any remaining hopes of a strong podium finish.
At that point, Charles Leclerc still held a comfortable margin over both George Russell and Max Verstappen. However, the damage sustained forced him to significantly reduce pace, allowing both drivers to close in rapidly during the final laps of the race. As a result, George Russell and Max Verstappen both passed Charles Leclerc before the chequered flag, completing a dramatic late-race collapse for Ferrari’s lead driver.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished the race in seventh position, also reacted with surprise when informed of Charles Leclerc’s final classification. The Ferrari driver asked his race engineer Carlo Santi for clarification on the outcome, initially seeking confirmation on the race winner and overall finishing order.
According to the team radio exchange, Lewis Hamilton asked who had won the race, to which Carlo Santi confirmed that Kimi Antonelli had taken victory ahead of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc. The Briton then followed up by asking what had happened to Charles Leclerc, clearly unaware of the severity of the late-race incident.
Carlo Santi explained that Charles Leclerc had been involved in a late battle, during which he made contact with the wall while fighting for position, resulting in lost time and several positions. The explanation highlighted how quickly the situation had deteriorated for Ferrari in the final moments of the race.
Following the chequered flag, the FIA confirmed that Charles Leclerc was under investigation for multiple track limit infringements and for continuing to drive in an unsafe condition after repeated contact with the barriers. The stewards ultimately handed down a 20-second time penalty, equivalent in severity to a drive-through penalty, which further demoted the Monegasque in the final classification.
As a result of the penalty, Charles Leclerc dropped to eighth place, finishing behind his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton as well as the Alpine driver Franco Colapinto. This reshuffling of positions meant that Ferrari left the Miami Grand Prix with only 10 points in total, a disappointing outcome given the scale of the technical upgrade package introduced for the weekend.
Prior to the event, Ferrari had expressed confidence that the new development direction could allow them to challenge Mercedes more consistently in race conditions. However, by the time Charles Leclerc made his decisive mistake, Kimi Antonelli had already built a sufficient gap to remain in control of the race outcome.
While it is still too early to fully assess the long-term performance impact of Ferrari’s latest upgrade package, the Miami Grand Prix has not delivered the expected results. Instead, the combination of strategic uncertainty, on-track incidents, and late-race errors has left Ferrari with more questions than answers heading into the next rounds of the Formula 1 season.
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