Lewis Hamilton’s weekend ended with a consistent sixth-place finish, but without any standout moments, underlining his ongoing difficulties in keeping pace with his teammate. Despite the upgrades introduced, Ferrari’s deficit in power unit performance compared to Mercedes-powered rivals remains evident.
The Miami Grand Prix concluded with Lewis Hamilton in sixth position (following a penalty applied to his teammate), at the end of a weekend that can be described as consistent in terms of results but still below Ferrari’s expectations. The seven-time world champion delivered a fairly stable performance throughout the event, but was unable to unlock the full potential promised by the updates brought to the car.
More importantly, Lewis Hamilton was clearly lacking in direct comparison with Charles Leclerc, who appeared more competitive in the key phases of the weekend. In many ways, the Briton’s performance echoed what was seen in Japan, where he also showed a similar pace, albeit affected by software issues. A similar problem reappeared during the Miami Sprint Race, although the driver himself confirmed it was resolved ahead of qualifying for the main race.
Despite this, the overall assessment remains disappointing. The updates have not delivered the expected gains, and Lewis Hamilton himself made this clear, stressing that attention is already shifting towards the next development package expected in early June, when further improvements derived from ADUO will be introduced.
As a result, growing questions are emerging around Ferrari’s season trajectory: can the team still achieve a positive evolution? Will there be a real performance breakthrough during the year? Team principal Fred Vasseur urges caution, explaining that the issue is not solely linked to the engine, but to the entire car package.
This is the central issue: understanding how and to what extent Ferrari will be able to improve all areas of the car. Because the answers to these questions will define the true potential of their season.
Miami GP, Hamilton: “We have the best car”. But the engine…
“The updates introduced have delivered positive feedback, but to make a real step forward it will be essential to work on the power unit.” These were the opening words of the seven-time world champion in an interview with Sky Sport F1.
Lewis Hamilton is direct and clear. The main limitation of the car at the moment is the lack of power compared to Mercedes-powered rivals. The gap remains significant, especially on the straights, where teams using the Silver Arrows engine are able to generate a clear advantage.
“Otherwise,” Lewis Hamilton continued, “we have a very good car, maybe even the best, so we need to fix this issue because if we manage to do so we could really be in the fight for victories again. It will take some time though to close this gap and recover ground.”
Miami GP, Hamilton: recovering ground is the target
Lewis Hamilton considers the base of the Ferrari car to be very strong, possibly among the best on the grid in several areas. For this reason, the priority becomes closing the engine performance gap. If that limitation can be reduced, the team could return to fighting consistently for race wins.
However, this remains a process that will take time. Recovering ground against such strong competitors is not immediate, but it is the necessary condition if Ferrari wants to aim for stronger results in the remainder of the season.
Leave a Reply