Williams stakes its claim as fourth force in Miami: how it outpaced Ferrari. Why Ferrari lost out to Williams in both qualifying and the race.

The Miami Grand Prix weekend showcased both the strengths and weaknesses of several cars, but most of all, it underscored the major progress of some teams. Among them, Williams stood out, affirming itself as the fourth-best team at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, surprisingly even ahead of Ferrari. While the performance in Miami may represent the peak of the FW47’s potential, it clearly signals Williams’ progress.

Since the early events of the 2025 Formula 1 season, including the pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, the British car had shown strong signs of competitiveness, continuing on a growth trajectory that began with the FW46. The leap from 2024 to 2025 might seem sudden, but it is actually the result of years of work, whose rewards Williams is only now beginning to reap.

The latest creation from Grove retains some hallmark traits of the FW46, such as effectiveness in high-speed corners. However, the real step forward has come on multiple fronts, such as the gradual correction of balance issues in medium and low-speed corners, which is an area where former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz is still experimenting in order to find a compromise between his driving style and the car’s characteristics.

These improvements, along with higher build quality than in the past, allowed Williams to take a significant step forward, even earning the satisfaction of beating Ferrari in both qualifying and the race, as well as finishing ahead of a Mercedes W16 cars on Sunday. But what made the FW47 so competitive in the Miami Grand Prix weekend?

First, let’s look at where the qualifying advantage emerged. In the qualifying session, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon took sixth and seventh respectively, just three-tenths off the pole position lap of max Verstappen. Despite a lack of downforce in fast corners, where the top teams still make the difference, the FW47 performed well in the slow sections, proving superior to Ferrari both in single-lap pace and race pace.

All weekend, Ferrari struggled to find the right balance in the slow sections, a problem repeatedly highlighted by Charles Leclerc and evident since the early races of the 2025 Formula 1 season. In Miami, the issue became even more apparent, as the track required various compromises, to the point that in qualifying, the SF-25 single-seater was even slower than the Haas in those sections.

It is clear that the SF-25 car struggles to express its full potential over one lap, particularly when it comes to extracting the final tenths on the soft tires. However, the car gets closer during long runs, when conditions stabilize. Still, these difficulties carry weight, especially when they force the Maranello team to start the race from behind, and therefore in a lot of traffic.

Starting ahead always pays off and this last factor significantly impacted the race for the two Ferrari drivers, as Charles Leclerc’s pace in clean air was not far off that of Red Bull and Mercedes. But being stuck in traffic compromised the race more than it might seem.

Williams’ race was marked by a few key events. Due to an operational error, Carlos Sainz had to start the race on a set of used medium tires with six laps already on them, because the only new set had been mistakenly used during the Sprint. On the opening lap, there was also contact between the Spaniard and Alex Albon, fortunately without major consequences, followed by a team order ignored by the Anglo-Thai driver. On the technical side, however, two crucial, closely linked elements emerged right away.

Starting ahead allowed Williams to keep Charles Leclerc in check, who spent the entire first stint in the slipstream of one of the FW47s without ever posing a real threat: while in the fast corners the Ferrari driver could often match the pace thanks to better downforce, he lacked the punch in slow sections to attempt overtakes at Turn 17 or Turn 1. With Alex Albon pulling away, Ferrari’s focus shifted to trying to beat at least Carlos Sainz, who was not necessarily faster, but was backed by an FW47 with strong top speed and the ability to maintain pace in slow corners, which was effectively acting like a rolling barrier.

A helping hand came in the form of a Virtual Safety Car, which allowed Charles Leclerc to save a few seconds during his stop and rejoin ahead of his former Ferrari teammate, who had pitted a few laps earlier. A battle ensued immediately between the two, with the Monegasque driver trying to warm up his tires when Carlos Sainz re-passed him, marking the first act of a duel that would later see both SF-25 cars retake position.

The challenge was decided by a very smart overtake from Charles Leclerc, but it was a critical moment. In truth, Carlos Sainz managed to keep pace with the two Ferrari cars during the second stint, aside from Lewis Hamilton‘s late slowdown. But with such similar pace, attempting a re-pass was difficult, culminating in a borderline move from the Spaniard. Alexander Albon was the one who benefited most, steadily pulling away at the front and even overtaking an Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggling on hard tires, earning Williams a fifth-place finish: the team’s best result of the season and, above all, a great reward—culmination of the (often hidden) progress made over the past two years.

The progress of Williams is therefore a result born of a long journey. Last season, the FW46 was overweight, which significantly slowed development throughout the year, forcing the Grove team to constantly play catch-up—also hampered by frequent crashes that affected spare parts availability. It is no coincidence that James Vowles has often said that during the 2024 Formula 1 championship that Williams failed to showcase the car’s development due to various problems—not only with the car, but also with staff and infrastructure. And it is from this foundation that Williams has finally managed to put all the puzzle pieces together, fielding one of the most competitive midfield cars and, above all, one capable of fighting for points in every 2025 race—except Bahrain, which felt more like a missed opportunity than a lack of potential.

Williams has already decided to halt development of the FW47 to focus on 2026, even though the drivers believe there is still room for tangible improvements in key areas. Sitting at the top table won’t be the norm—especially as rivals bring updates that the FW47 won’t receive. But Miami stands as the clearest representation of the team’s progress over the past three years, which unfortunately cannot be said about Ferrari.

— see video above —-