Hamilton Highlights Ferrari’s Struggles with Speed at… Read More
Lewis Hamilton has openly acknowledged Ferrari’s continued struggles at the Miami Grand Prix, delivering a blow to the team’s confidence by stating the SF-25 is still “just lacking speed.” The seven-time world champion qualified seventh for the Sprint race, more than five-tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, and was also slower than his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Despite signs of promise during the practice sessions, Ferrari’s pace fell short in the Sprint Shootout, with Hamilton revealing that the car felt better in the earlier free practice session than it did during qualifying. Speaking after the session, Hamilton admitted he had hoped for a better result but was not surprised by the outcome given the team’s ongoing issues.
“I thought it was a better session,” Hamilton said. “P1 (free practice) was probably a bit better, the car was a bit nicer to drive in P1. But, yeah, we’re just lacking speed. I just keep working on from there.”
Ferrari once again found themselves behind Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes in terms of outright performance, marking them as the fourth quickest team on the grid. Both Hamilton and Leclerc noted the same shortcomings, pointing to the lack of straight-line speed and overall grip as key factors limiting their performance around the Miami International Autodrome.
The circuit, known for its mix of long straights and tight corners, offers limited overtaking opportunities, although passes are still possible with the right strategy. However, Hamilton is not optimistic about making much progress in the Sprint race, as he believes the cars starting ahead of him are simply quicker.
“Not really, I think all the cars ahead are faster,” he admitted. “So, yeah, I don’t really know what else to say.”
Looking ahead, Ferrari will have a brief opportunity to make changes to Hamilton’s car before the parc fermé conditions are reinstated ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix qualifying session. The team is expected to try a few setup tweaks in hopes of unlocking more pace, but Hamilton remains cautious about the potential benefits.
“There’s always ideas, whether they’re going to be right or not,” he said. “But there’s definitely learnings to take from today, set up changes we made and how the car behaved. There’s definitely work to do to pick up speed going into the rest of the weekend.”
As Ferrari continues to chase performance improvements, Hamilton’s comments underscore the urgency facing the team as they try to remain competitive in a tightly contested 2025 Formula 1 season.
