The Miami GP was a disappointing weekend for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc hit the wall before the rain-affected sprint race, although Lewis Hamilton was able to make it into the top 3. Qualifying was a struggle for the Scuderia, with Hamilton exiting in Q2, and Leclerc could only be eighth fastest.
Ferrari’s pace didn’t improve during the main race, with Leclerc just about keeping up with the Williams cars and Lewis Hamilton losing time on the hard tyre. However, a virtual safety car changed the race, as Leclerc jumped Carlos Sainz, and Hamilton closed up on the pair. This led to a heated radio exchange between Hamilton, Leclerc and Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton unimpressed with Ferrari dithering
After the pitstop phase, Lewis Hamilton was on the faster medium tyre, while his teammate was on the hard compound. Leclerc and Sainz were fighting hard, allowing Hamilton to close in. Both Ferrari drivers got ahead of Sainz, but Hamilton was faster and complained on the radio to be able to pass his teammate.
Over the team radio, Hamilton said: “I’m just burning up my tires behind him. You want me to just sit here the whole race? Want to keep DRS to Charles, go ahead like this. Man, you guys. This is not good teamwork. That’s all I’m going to say. Have a tea break while you’re at it”
LAP 39/57
📻 “This is not good teamwork”
Hamilton was not happy with his team’s orders to stay behind Leclerc, but soon the pair swap positions#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/h48BcfU0v2
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025
After three laps, Hamilton was finally allowed to pass Leclerc to chase after Kimi Antonelli. However, the dithering by Ferrari cost Hamilton tyre performance, and he was unable to catch Antonelli at the required pace. He was also unable to pull away from Leclerc and Sainz, which left Ferrari with another headache to solve.
Ferrari orders Charles Leclerc back through after Hamilton fails to catch Antonelli
With Hamilton unable to drop Leclerc, Ferrari had a decision to make. Hamilton’s pace had suffered after a few laps fighting against his teammate, and he lost performance on the medium compound. The hard tyre was quicker towards the end, and Leclerc believed he had the pace to catch the Mercedes ahead.
Over the team radio, Leclerc said: “I need Lewis to go faster. I’ve just got dirty air now. I’m stuck now.”
Leclerc passed Hamilton and dropped the seven-time world champion as he chased after Antonelli. However, Hamilton was less than impressed with the Ferrari strategy team after they told the Brit that Sainz was 1.4 seconds behind. Hamilton replied: “You want me to let him past as well?”
LAP 53/57
Hamilton 🔄 Leclerc
Ferrari tell their drivers to swap positions – Hamilton slows to allow Leclerc through #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/HSBPnFLIzE
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025
After the race, team principal Fred Vasseur said: “It’s never easy to ask teammates to switch positions, but I completely understand that we did it for the benefit of the team, to try and catch Antonelli. We asked Lewis and Charles to switch because Lewis was on the Medium tyre. Once we saw that it wasn’t going to work, we asked them to swap back.”
Ultimately, neither driver had the pace to catch Antonelli and Albon, but their progress wasn’t helped by Ferrari dithering in their decision-making. It cost both drivers a run at the two drivers ahead and cost the Scuderia more points.
