I’ve still got my fire in my belly,” he said “I’m not going to apologise for being a fighter I’m not going to apologise for still wanting it Hamilton finished eighth in the race which was won in dominant style by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri During the race Hamilton asked Ferrari to have his teammate Charles Leclerc switch places with him as the British driver was clearly quicker He was exasperated at the time the team took took to make the call He also referred to it as “not good teamwork” and later after the team switched the two drivers places back asked with no little sarcasm whether he should also give up a place to the chasing Williams of Carlos Sainz The Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the Miami GP. Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula 1/Getty ImagesHowever he played down the significance of the exchanges and revealed he and team principal Fred Vasseur had spoken almost immediately after the race, with Hamilton making sure the air was clear between them. “Fred came to my room, I just put my hand on his shoulder and was like, ‘dude, calm down, don’t be so sensitive’,” he said. “I could have said way worse things on the radio. You hear some of the things others have said in the past, some of it was sarcasm. Look, you’ve got to understand we’re under a huge amount of pressure within the car. Read more“You’re never going to get the most peaceful messages coming through in the heat of the battle It wasn’t effing and blinding and anything like that Vasseur maintained he was happy with the way the team had called their decisions and that he understood his driver’s position “I had a discussion with Lewis and I can perfectly understand the frustration,” he said “They are champions, they want to win races. It’s not easy. It’s never easy. And I didn’t see another team to do it today. That’s why we took the responsibility to do it. We are racing for Ferrari first and honestly I think as a team we did a good job.” Vasseur also confirmed that the team’s policy if they switch driver positions to allow one to attack a car ahead and if no advantage is gained and a position is not made they will revert to the original order as they did in Miami Carlos Sainz escaped a penalty for his collision with Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Miami Grand Prix that being just one of two incidents for which the Williams driver was summoned to the stewards’ office Sainz was back inside the points in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix where the Spaniard brought his FW47 home in ninth place scoring two points in what has been a tricky start to his Williams career His points were in jeopardy on Sunday evening when the stewards noted him for a collision with Lewis Hamilton on the very last lap of the Grand Prix Having swapped positions with team-mate Charles Leclerc in a tension-fraught race for the seven-time World Champion Hamilton had Sainz all over his rear wing on the final lap of the race Sainz was summoned to the stewards’ office but escaped without a penalty as the stewards declared both drivers ‘contributed’ to the collision 👉F1 penalty points: First points of 2025 handed out as Verstappen closest to ban threshold 👉 F1’s penalty system explained: How does a driver pick up a penalty from the FIA? The stewards ruled: ‘Car 55 attempted an overtake on the inside of Car 44 into Turn 17 and both cars made contact at the apex ‘The Stewards determine that both drivers contributed to the incident as Car 55 did not clearly get in a position to have the right to the racing line according to the Driving Standards Guidelines and at the same time Car 44 turned into the corner earlier than usual and therefore impacted the driver of Car 55 in his overtaking attempt ‘No driver is deemed predominantly to blame for the collision and therefore no further action is taken.’ The former Ferrari driver was back in the stewards’ office a short while later this time to answer the charge of failing to slow for a waved yellow flag he was handed a warning as the stewards took into account that Sainz could not see the yellow flag nor were there a light panel in place meaning he did not have sufficient warning ‘The driver did not slow down for the yellow flag and admitted in the hearing that he neither saw a yellow flag nor any stopped car,’ read the stewards’ ruling explaining their decision ‘He stated that he lifted the throttle after being informed of a yellow flag by the team this being slightly after passing the yellow flag zone it is evident that the yellow flag was only shown from one marshal post and was shown against a yellow background in a very quick part of the track there was no light panel in place at that point and therefore neither the team nor the driver got any visual or audible warning ‘The car causing the yellow flag also was not visible from the driver’s perspective as it was hidden behind an exit ‘The Stewards consider all this as a unique scenario and taking all these mitigating circumstances into account Read next: Miami GP: Piastri continues winning streak after more Verstappen v Norris fireworks © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player I agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies to serve relevant advertising and improve my service Pay to read The Race without adverts or cookies used for personalised ads By logging in, you agree to our use of third-party and analytics cookies to enhance your experience and improve our services. For more details, please review our Privacy Policy Lewis Hamilton has revealed he nearly crashed on the Miami sprint race reconnaissance lap at exactly the same point as his Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Charles Leclerc Leclerc had to sit out the sprint having slewed into the wall at Turn 10 in the very wet conditions before the race start Hamilton made the most of a perfectly timed switch from intermediate to slick tyres to take third place in the race his best result since winning the China sprint in March but admitted he came close to not even making the grid as well “Obviously Charles had that moment,” Hamilton said “I had exactly the same moment because I was right behind him and somehow it just stopped going towards the wall right at the last moment Leclerc took full responsibility for his crash though he also intimated that Ferrari being one of the few to use intermediates not full wets for the laps to the grid was unwise in hindsight “It's frustrating but at the end of the day I can only blame myself for it,” said Leclerc “Going out with the inters in those conditions was probably not the best choice but on the other hand these things shouldn't happen “I felt a bit like a passenger because it's in a straight line and it's not like you are pushing in a straight line so I was just cruising until I completely lost control of the car because of the aquaplaning and I had no way out of it.” Hamilton struggled in the first half of the race and was running a distant sixth with Alex Albon’s Williams and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin pressuring him before becoming the second driver to pit for slick tyres as conditions improved When post-race press conference host Tom Clarkson said Hamilton the “first frontrunner” to pit Hamilton’s reply of “I don’t think I was a frontrunner was I I was sixth or something!” summed up his view of how badly his race had been going before the tyre change chance transformed it really happy with the result to get up here because it wasn’t looking very good,” he conceded “Through qualifying we were obviously quite a chunk off these guys [the McLarens that finished 1-2] and then on the inters I was just sliding around I had the Williams behind me and there was another one behind him who I was most likely going to get overtaken by I was on full lock through Turn 12 and full lock through Turn 16 and it still wasn’t turning “Honestly I should’ve done it a lap or two before that I think it would’ve been probably the same result because these guys [the McLarens] were a bit too far ahead really happy to get back up there and get the points.” Hamilton had been morose and perplexed after races and qualifying sessions for much of the time since his Shanghai sprint win even suggesting after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that he feared he might struggle for the whole of the rest of his first Ferrari F1 season while admitting that “we’re not extracting everything from the car” and that “there’s a lot of elements that we need to elevate” Asked by The Race if even a result achieved on strategy not pure pace still offered a glimmer of hope and a morale lift and sounded more optimistic about his chances of eventually getting on top of the 2025 Ferrari “It’s definitely been not so great obviously since China (pictured above),” he admitted “But looking at it you can definitely see why we’ve been in the position we’ve been in we have made some changes but we have more to do in order to be fighting more consistently at the front “So we just need to knuckle down and I do believe we can get some better results.” Please accept marketing cookies to enable YouTube videos A couple of hours after the first of two nights of the Ultimate Driver Challenge at Albion Park After some drinks and socialising at the track following the races a small group decided to “kick-on” for a few more in a downtown bar Sugars was a fan of Ultimate Driver Challenge he made the trip – a rushed one of less than 24 hours – largely to see friends from the US superstar driver Yannick Gingras and his wife Maybe he’d originally planned to stay the whole weekend but Sugars had drives at Menangle on the Saturday night But Sugars wasn’t missing the chance to see his friends has penned in tributes since Sugars’ devastating passing last Friday week this was to be their year of doing things differently … enjoying life more when Sugars went to Menangle on the Saturday night to drive Tubbs took her chance to get to Brisbane to see the Gingras couple I’d known Sugars for almost 20 years and wrote one of the first stories about the then exciting young talent when he first moved from South Australia to the big smoke in Victoria but worked closely together on many occasions as journo and participant He was always helpful and eager to promote the game I’d like to think it was a relationship built on mutual respect in the bar in the early hours of the morning I got a glimpse into the Greg Sugars so many knew far better than me and loved Sugars thanked me for the way I’d given he and Jess space when the career of their champion trotter Just Believe was in limbo for a few weeks and before they eventually retired him He was also appreciative of the tributes for the great trotter’s deeds He had but a few hours in Brisbane to be with “his” people difficult and deeply emotional conversations with people who knew Sugars far better than I did and were much closer to him The most we ever spoke was during his time in Sweden with Just Believe Maybe he was a bit bored at times and missing home compared to running the huge stable at home with Jess and driving at so many meetings What sticks with me most is his absolute love for the horse Sugars was absolutely gutted after Just Believe struck trouble galloped and lost all chance in that heat of the iconic Elitlopp at Solvalla facing some of the greatest trotters anywhere and without a support network it would have been easy for Sugars to pull the pin and go home someone else could’ve trained and driven him and an extra layer he seemed to feel to prove a point for Down Under trotting The satisfaction and joy he felt when Just Believe bounced-back for two epic placings in elite company in those other two runs was immense They were two of the best runs of his stellar career Sugars and “Harry” (Just Believe’s stable name) won an army of Scandinavian fans and truckloads of respect You saw that 18 months later with the deluge of tributes from that part of the world after Sugars’ passing Sugars boasted a Hall of Fame CV on the track but what he did off it for the game was every bit as important I’m so glad he got to experience the Elitlopp for all its highs and lows and that the trip finished in such an uplifting fashion He got to feel like the hero he was in the eyes of many As he said at the time while preparing to head to Sweden: “It’s the trip of a lifetime most felt it would be the first of many such experiences for Sugars at the height of his powers It’s just so hard to comprehend that won’t be the case he said he's happy to be ahead of the seven time world champion - the most objectively successful driver in history - for now "But that's not what makes me smile because we're fighting "That's where I'm putting all my efforts - trying to improve the car so that we can fight for the victory like he did in the sprint in China He's extremely fast and I have a lot to learn from him When asked what he thinks is going wrong for Hamilton Leclerc answered: "I don't have an explanation - I focus on myself But Lewis is a driver and a person I've always looked up to The current trend actually seems to be downwards for 40-year-old Hamilton - as Leclerc adapts his setup and style and the car is developed Team boss Frederic Vasseur plays down that assessment Here we are far from Kimi (Antonelli) and close to Max (Verstappen) And Lewis was close to Charles in Jeddah and he's close again now that while Hamilton sounds confused about what to do next Leclerc continues to chip away at getting the maximum from the car I'm trying to adapt my driving style to this new car adding that it's a little more extreme a little more difficult than its predecessor even if we don't have the potential to beat McLaren and even Red Bull on their best days Leclerc said a couple of races ago that he had a personal breakthrough with his preferred car setup for 2025 "but it makes the car a little bit more delicate - very very precise - and quite difficult to drive especially when you're on the limit in qualifying and something I've always liked in my career this year we've gone in some very extreme directions in terms of setup so I feel like I'm changing my driving style quite a bit to adapt to the new needs of this car Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium in the short 30-minute sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix but could only qualify in 12th place for Sunday’s race Hamilton is having an up and down season with his new Ferrari team with highs such as his victory in the Chinese GP sprint race reflected on his podium in the sprint race and said: “[It was a] difficult session “I was one of the first here this morning to make sure we took the right steps through the day and [it] didn't make any difference The car is just different every time you go out.” Hamilton was unable to hide is disappointment at failing to reach to Q3 and a place in the top 10 for the race, while his team-mate Charles Leclerc was only quick enough for eighth on the gird He added: “We're out-qualified by the Williams so they're doing a great job Charles was fortunate to get through with a new tyre If I had an extra new tyre we should have used it “The sprint race was better than qualifying but as I said we are where we are we need lots of things that need to be better If we had gone out with a new tyre I probably would have been in Q3 Then it would just be eighth or ninth with Charles Hamilton is also unsure whether that will give him any advantage I don't know if it will be tomorrow either If it started dry and then went wet or something like that Stay up to speed with the latest F1 Miami Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos and videos. Join our watch along on Race Center Live by signing up here From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton painted a furious figure whilst stuck behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc Lewis Hamilton slated Ferrari's teamwork during the Miami Grand Prix in a radio outburst following frustration with the outfit's strategy.  Hamilton started in 12th and made little progress in the opening stages; however a pit-stop for the Briton during a virtual safety car brought him into the points places.  Hamilton had great initial pace after pitting which saw him catch Charles Leclerc on the hard compound.  The seven-time world champion was eager to be allowed past Leclerc Full radio transcript between Hamilton and race engineer Riccardo Adami:  Hamilton's annoyance continued over the radio a lap later we swapped the cars.Hamilton: Have a tea break while you're at it!Remarkably Leclerc was allowed back past Hamilton into seventh on lap 53 It resulted in further radio tension after the swap.Adami: Sainz 1.4s behind.Hamilton: Do you want me to let him past as well Sign up for the daily digest and/or weekly newsletter and we'll make sure that you are fully up to date with the latest news from the Formula 1 world Find the latest F1 news and news from other motorsport series at RacingNews365.com the world's leading independent F1 website providing daily F1 coverage Check out the 2025 F1 calendar for an overview of all the races with extensive background and real-time information.  Follow RacingNews365 on your favorite social media channels ‘We made it count when it mattered’ – Russell satisfied with recovery to podium after troublesome Miami weekend Stella ‘surprised’ by McLaren advantage after 1-2 in Miami as he hails particular area of engineering 'excellence' MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Leclerc and Hamilton’s opposing Miami strategies culminated in fractious Ferrari radio exchanges MIAMI LOWDOWN: All the key moments as McLaren and Antonelli shine Lewis Hamilton has reflected on the tense radio messages he made during the Miami Grand Prix conceding that "I'm sure people didn't like certain comments" but emphasizing that they were said during a "frustrating" moment as Ferrari tried to maximise a lacklustre race The seven-time World Champion endured a difficult weekend in Miami as he was consigned to a 12th-place starting spot on the grid and was left battling Esteban Ocon on the fringes of the top-10 with the hard compound tyre in the early stages of the race READ MORE: Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix A mid-race Virtual Safety Car transformed his race as it allowed the Briton to make a pit stop without losing as much time compared with those ahead and he closed on team mate Charles Leclerc and the Williams of Carlos Sainz He moved up a spot as Leclerc passed Sainz at Turn 1 and with the softer medium tyre looked quicker than his team mate and asked his Ferrari engineer to be allowed ahead 2025 Miami Grand Prix: Tense radio exchanges as Hamilton and Leclerc argue over Ferrari strategy But it took several laps before Ferrari asked Leclerc to cede the spot having initially told both drivers to hold position prompting several irate messages from Hamilton including one that suggested they could "have a tea break while you're at it" Hamilton clarified that his comments were made in the heat of the moment and that his remarks would be discussed amongst the team "I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment for sure I was like come on let's make a concise decision really quick "I'm sure people didn't like certain comments but you've got to understand it was frustrating people say way worse things than what I say It was more sarcastic than anything and I'm not frustrated now we'll have discussions and we'll keep pushing." He added: "Let's not get emotional about it Hamilton was unable to pull away from his team mate who was able to stay within DRS range and also began to complain about dirty air from following ‘In the heat of the moment it’s frustrating’ – Hamilton on tense radio calls in Miami Hamilton eventually finished eighth after making contact with Sainz on the last lap as the Williams driver made a late lunge into the final hairpin "For us to be battling them and struggling to beat them [Williams] just shows that we have a lot of performance to find," Hamilton said READ MORE: Piastri full of praise for McLaren after ‘unbelievable’ and ‘impressive’ victory in Miami "We're lacking performance in the car but I think we know where we are losing it We've got some improvements to make to the car before we can unlock that performance but we won't give up Leclerc was only able to finish one place higher in seventh nearly a minute behind race winner Oscar Piastri during a race which saw only two brief Virtual Safety Cars as Ferrari's race pace was laid bare we need to do better and we are in a difficult situation at the moment I just hope we can turn that situation around as soon as possible." Don't miss your chance to experience the picturesque Imola circuit.. Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix Verstappen labels Miami Grand Prix ‘a struggle’ after slipping back to P4 as he reflects on gap to McLaren Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade Cadillac unveil their team logo and brand during dazzling Miami launch event ahead of 2026 entry TREMAYNE: The tragic story of Mark Donohue – The American racer with a streak of steel behind his ‘Captain Nice’ nickname OFFICIAL GRID: Wet Miami race in prospect as Gasly starts from pit lane AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the Miami GP as Piastri wins in dominant McLaren 1-2 VideoHIGHLIGHTS: Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 after thrilling race in Miami DRIVER OF THE DAY: Piastri's imperious Miami showing gets your vote Verstappen labels Miami Grand Prix ‘a struggle’ after slipping back to P4 as he reflects on gap to McLaren © 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur defended the handling of team orders between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton during the Miami Grand Prix arguing that “we did a good job” from the pitwall despite both drivers being unhappy about the situation While both Leclerc and Hamilton were diplomatic after the race both made it clear that they still had concerns Leclerc said “I’m not going to comment too much” but that “it’s obvious today was not the way we want to manage the race” Hamilton also questioned the time he lost behind Leclerc in the second stint saying “I don’t think the decision came quick enough” but also saying “I have no problems with the team or with Charles” with Hamilton in particular criticising what he called “not good teamwork” over the radio having initially been told to stay in DRS range of Leclerc Even after he was told the two cars would be swapped he quipped “have a tea break while you’re at it This was during the second stint of the race with Leclerc and Hamilton running seventh and eighth after both passing Carlos Sainz’s Williams just after the restart coming out of a virtual safety car restart on lap 34/57 Hamilton was on medium tyres and Leclerc was on hards It wasn’t until lap 38 that the swap was made at Turn 17 Leclerc promptly reported that “I need Lewis to go faster” and as Hamilton was unable to catch Antonelli with the deficit of just under three seconds Although Leclerc was told the swap would be made on lap 51 Hamilton wasn’t told in time for the first of these opportunities and questioned the decision for the second he did relinquish seventh place on the run to Turn 11 on lap 52 - albeit subsequently sarcastically asking engineer Riccardo Adami when given an update about the time gap to Carlos Sainz Vasseur was adamant that Ferrari was not flat-footed in imposing team orders originally despite this seemingly preventing Hamilton making the most of his medium tyres He argued that what delay there was resulted from the need to understand whether or not Hamilton really was faster or something like this,” said Vasseur when asked by The Race why it took so long to swap Hamilton and Leclerc the first thing to understand if it's faster when you are behind due to the DRS or not it means that it's one minute 30 to understand perhaps you can argue at the end that we would have been better to do it directly but we didn't know if it was the DRS effect or not And I think we take the tough decision because it's never easy to ask Charles or Lewis to swap I didn't see a lot of [other] teams doing it.” When Hamilton was ordered to drop behind his team-mate suggested the risk of losing more time to Antonelli meant that “it’s OK” to stay in position Vasseur explained after the race that it was important to stick with the team’s existing policy when it comes to managing such situations hence Hamilton was instructed again to let Leclerc past “Because it's the policy of the team that if you ask them to swap,” said Vasseur when asked about why this happened. it's because we think that the second car is faster than the first one at that stage of the race “We try to catch up the guy who is in front we swap back to respect the initial position at the stage of the race when it was clear that we wouldn't be able to fight Antonelli with Lewis." Vasseur said that “I can perfectly understand the frustrations of the drivers” but reiterated that he felt “as a team He also highlighted the fact that the way the radio messages are dropped into the TV broadcast can distort the timings first you have to understand that it's FOM who is managing the delay,” said Vasseur “It means that sometimes we're asking them something and you have it live or one half later but it was still under control “And then we have tonnes of information that we are discussing with them about the car the set-up of the car and so it's not always easy to ask them to do it before Turn 11 or Turn 18 You can always argue that he would have been better to do it half a lap before or half a lap later." The seven-time Formula 1 world champion told the Italian team to “have a tea-break while you’re at it” after the pit wall finally confirmed teammate Charles Leclerc would let him through that’s all I’m going to say,” he had said earlier complaining he was just “burning up my tyres” in the dirty air behind the Monegasque “So you want me to just sit here (behind Leclerc) the whole race?” he said as the team informed him of the gap to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli ahead of Leclerc without giving any instruction on passing Hamilton was unable to pull away at the rate expected and Leclerc then told the team he needed the Briton to go faster with Hamilton turning sarcastic again when his race engineer informed him that Williams’ Carlos Sainz the driver he replaced at Ferrari in January “You want me to let him past as well?,” said Hamilton pointedly but the pair collided as the Spaniard tried to go past on the last lap Stewards decided to take no further action after investigating “It’s obvious today was not the way we want to manage a race,” he added “We will discuss internally in order to make better decisions It’s just that as a team we need to do better.” third in the Saturday sprint and 12th on the grid for the main grand prix said he really enjoyed the race despite Ferrari lacking a lot of pace “I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment I was come on just make a decision and don’t waste time Some people didn’t like the comments “People say way worse things than I say have discussions and keep pushing,” he added Team boss Fred Vasseur said he could understand his drivers’ frustrations he was with softer compounds and we let him go “Then we swapped back at the end. We gave Lewis a chance to go in front of Charles but it was impossible to overtake (Antonelli),” the Frenchman admitted. (Writing by Alan Baldwin) Team orders became the story of a difficult Miami Grand Prix for Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton let his frustrations be known Moved ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc and swapped back again, Hamilton and his Ferrari race engineer Ricciardo Adami were involved in several tense exchanges on Grand Prix Sunday in Miami which included Hamilton sarcastically telling his team to “have a tea break” It was a challenging experience for Ferrari in Miami, as despite a P3 finish for Hamilton in the sprint after a genius slick tyre call the Scuderia lacked pace compared to McLaren with Leclerc crossing the line P7 and Hamilton P8 it was far from an uneventful drive to the chequered flag for the team and their drivers the frustration for Hamilton beginning with Adami’s choice of timing to communicate “Stop talking to me while I’m freaking [in] battle In the braking zone you’re talking to me!” Hamilton vented Hamilton moved to mediums at the sole pit stop and when he started to come up behind Leclerc on the hards Hamilton: “How far are people ahead of Charles Hamilton: “So you want me to just sit here [behind Leclerc] the whole race?” Ferrari’s verdict was not one which pleased Hamilton as they ordered him to hold station and benefit from Leclerc’s DRS Hamilton: “Argh… You guys are… This is not good teamwork Hamilton brought up the Chinese Grand Prix – Round 2 in F1 2025 – where he yielded to Leclerc Hamilton: “In China I got out of the way when you were on a different strategy!” That would convince Ferrari to order the swap not that it improved Hamilton’s mood 👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates 👉 How LEGO brought 10 life-size, fully-drivable F1 cars to life With this saga taking place over various laps once Leclerc had let Hamilton through into P7 the closest target – Antonelli in the Mercedes – was almost five seconds ahead Hamilton: “Well now I’ve used all my tyres!” Adami: “Need a 30.7 to catch in 6-7 laps.” he was right there on Hamilton’s rear wing as Antonelli came into view Leclerc was growing frustrated behind Hamilton triggering Ferrari to order a reversal of the swap Adami: “We’re gonna swap the cars in T17.” Hamilton: “So you don’t think I can catch up or what??” Ferrari told Leclerc of this plan before they informed Hamilton meaning it was on the next lap that Hamilton followed the order Hamilton came under pressure from the driver he replaced at Ferrari now driving what was a competitive Williams in Miami Hamilton: “You want me to let him past as well?” Sainz did give it a go at demoting Hamilton a further position his effort resulting in contact as he sent a lunge down the inside on the final lap into Turn 17 hitting Hamilton who was able to keep the Ferrari under control good job” verdict from Adami received no response from Hamilton Read next – Miami GP: Piastri continues winning streak after more Verstappen v Norris fireworks Lewis Hamilton was left to rue Ferrari’s “big time” struggles after ending Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix in P12 with the seven-time World Champion admitting that progressing into Q3 is often proving “tough” at the moment Hamilton’s Saturday at the Miami International Autodrome began in slightly more promising style after the Briton climbed from P7 to P3 in the Sprint with Hamilton unable to improve on his lap time in Q2 which resulted in him exiting in 12th place READ MORE: Verstappen surges to pole position ahead of Norris and Antonelli in Miami GP Qualifying Given that team mate Charles Leclerc has also spoken of the squad’s pace difficulties during the weekend Hamilton was quizzed after Qualifying on whether the Scuderia have an idea of the direction to take in order to make improvements to the SF-25 but we’re struggling big time,” the 40-year-old told Sky Sports F1 “We’re trying our hardest not to make big set-up changes P12 Hamilton says his Ferrari is ‘a bit of a mess at the moment balance-wise’ we’ve got problems with this instability that we’re struggling with We’re just generally not quick enough – just to get into Q3 is tough for us at the moment and once you’re then on that backfoot it’s hard to pick up those points.” Hamilton – who in a separate interview described the Ferrari as “a bit of a mess at the moment balance-wise” – predicted that Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix could prove to be a tricky day HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the Qualifying action from Miami as Verstappen secures spectacular pole position but we’ll try again tomorrow,” he conceded [I’ll] get back in the factory next week and just keep going.” who suffered a crash in wet conditions on his way to the grid prior to the Sprint getting underway which ultimately left him unable to start the 100km dash The Monegasque returned to action for Qualifying and ‘It’s just not good enough’ – Leclerc demands improvement from Ferrari after P8 in Miami Qualifying Pushed on how difficult it is to accept that the performance is not currently there in the car Leclerc responded: “The fact is that I’m not accepting it “It’s frustrating because it’s those kinds of days there’s been quite a few races already that I feel I’m doing a really good job but when you are finishing P4 I have no satisfaction of doing a good job READ MORE: Hamilton thrilled with P3 in Miami Sprint after ‘tough year so far’ while Leclerc blames himself for early crash “I’m just hoping that we can turn the situation around as soon as possible but at the moment that’s the situation we are in and there’s not much I can do.” Having displayed better race pace during recent Grand Prix weekends – including last time out in Saudi Arabia where he claimed a debut podium of the campaign – Leclerc was then asked if this gave him any hope for Sunday’s event in Miami but not so much either,” the 27-year-old said “I don’t think we can expect any miracles from us tomorrow It’s been a difficult race weekend since FP1 and it’s difficult to recover I hope the race pace will be as strong as in Jeddah but it’s a very different characteristics of track here I think that on paper it’s going to be more difficult.” VideoWATCH: Ride onboard with Verstappen for his mighty pole lap in Miami 'It was frustrating' – Hamilton opens up on tense Miami radio messages during Ferrari strategy debate Piastri full of praise for McLaren after ‘unbelievable’ and ‘impressive’ victory in Miami ‘I didn’t deliver’ – Norris laments struggle to maximise McLaren’s performance in Miami Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he is “definitely working hard to adjust” to the Ferrari as he enters into his sixth race weekend for the team in Miami one in which the seven-time World Champion is aiming to replicate team mate Charles Leclerc’s success last time out in Saudi Arabia After the high of winning the Sprint during Round 2 in China the past few Grands Prix have proven frustrating at times for Hamilton having ended the triple header with two P7 results in Japan and Jeddah and a P5 in Bahrain LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the build-up ahead of the Miami Grand Prix weekend Given that he has displayed promising pace during certain stints across those events Hamilton was asked during media day in Miami about what was preventing him from repeating that level of performance lots of different things – there’s not one in particular,” the Briton responded getting attuned to working with new people Hamilton is still adapting to the Ferrari SF-25 “Obviously the engineers that I’m working with now are used to setting up the car for a different driver and a different driver’s style and I’m used to driving a car with a different driving style so it’s just a combination of different things.” Pushed on whether he felt able to drive the SF-25 instinctively yet or if it was more of a conscious process Hamilton added: “I would say you’re generally always a mixture of the two but I’m definitely working hard to adjust to this one READ MORE: ‘I’m 2000% behind him’ – Vasseur backs Hamilton amid early Ferrari struggles as he insists ‘potential is there’ And when asked how long the process could take to adapt to his new car the 105-time race winner conceded: “I really don’t know We’re working as hard as we can to shorten that but it could be longer With the Sprint making its return in Miami Hamilton took a moment to reflect on whether this could be a positive factor for him given his success in the first 100km dash of the season in Shanghai in which he won from P1 on the grid “Can’t really explain it too much,” the 40-year-old answered when quizzed on why the performance had seemingly been stronger in the Sprint than during a race Sprint Highlights: 2025 Chinese Grand Prix “In a Sprint race obviously there’s not a huge amount of changes you can make; I think the one thing to take from it is that we didn’t make a lot of changes going from P1 to Quali as in all the other weekends we’ve been tinkering with the car and making it worse!” Following the recent break after the triple header concluded Hamilton revealed that he spent some “good time” at Ferrari’s base in Italy and there are things that we’ve made adjustments to NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix And in terms of what might be expected from himself and the team during the weekend ahead at the Miami International Autodrome Hamilton said: “No clue – we’ll do the best we can We’ve not got upgrades or anything this weekend but we continue to try to optimise the car “Obviously Charles in the last race did a fantastic job [with a P3 result] and showed what the car can do in a race Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix Former F1 and Le Mans racer Jochen Mass passes away aged 78 McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved further clear at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with his third win in as many races The Australian matched a feat for McLaren last achieved by Mika Hakkinen in 1998 as the Woking team took another big step towards both titles already Here are your conclusions from the 2025 Miami Grand Prix Whether it was a conscious effort or a mindset that subconsciously ensnared everyone at the MTC – McLaren have been on a mission to insist they do not have the outright best car Oscar Piastri’s 40-second gap to the rest of the field means that approach is no longer realistic It may be a tactic to take the pressure off their drivers but rarely has a team been so hesitant to admit they have built an absolute rocket-ship Piastri cut through Antonelli and then Verstappen with ease and even every inch of the four-time World Champion’s talent was not enough to keep him behind Norris too had little problem getting by the field after his lap one moment and you got the sense that neither driver were at their best Cars will suit certain tracks of course and Verstappen’s win in Suzuka shows that dominant teams can have an off day but McLaren now go into every race as heavy favourites they have a driver in red-hot form and it would take a catastrophic capitulation for anything other than both titles heading to Woking to occur enough with complaining about Red Bull – it is time for Zak Brown and Andrea Stella to be bullish in their assessment a hattrick of successes may well be looked back as Piastri’s knockout blow to Lando Norris Norris was celebrating becoming a race winner for the first time – something his team-mate had not achieved – yet fast forward 12 months and not only has Piastri won Every season Piastri has improved but this year he looks very close to the finished article If a quali result is still sometimes short – he has taken pole just twice – he has the speed and race craft to more than make up for it in the race His battle with Verstappen was one of high skill with both drivers fighting desperately to stay ahead but ultimately it was Piastri who triumphed in a move that would not have seemed out of place had Verstappen himself pulled it off The Australian’s lead at the top is 16 points with a quarter of the year gone and it is hard to see how anyone but himself will knock him off his perch Aside from an espresso served with a slice of thin-cut pizza there are few things more Italian than a Ferrari embarrassment In a display that will have been crucified in the Italian press Ferrari were back to their most indecisive selves It was this apprehension that frustrated Lewis Hamilton into mocking his own team and one that left Charles Leclerc with a painfully familiar exhausted expression on his face But away from the strategy blunders that cost both drivers a chance to attack Kimi Antonelli it is the pace of the car that should be the true worry for Fred Vasseur Leclerc believed he drove a great lap in Q3 and the best it got him was eighth as both drivers watched in disbelief as Williams qualified ahead Carlos Sainz proved a thorn in both Ferrari drivers’ side but Alex Albon was too far up the order to even be a bother Ferrari are fourth in the Championship but unless major upgrades come they will more than likely stay there for the remainder of the season Whatever Aston Martin’s sponsors are paying The omission of either car from the broadcast aside from when they are spinning out of control is a visual representation of just how off it they have been this season Sauber have become a forgotten team while some viewers may soon struggle to pick Nico Hulkenberg out of a line-up The problem with this is that teams are perfectly happy to be dead last Miami GP: Piastri continues winning streak after more Verstappen v Norris fireworks Tempers flare between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari in Miami GP radio transcript All 10 teams know they will be on the grid next season meaning if you have nothing to fight for a certain stage of the season you may as well pack up and focus on next year this creates an incredibly underwhelming viewing experience and one where you could quite easily pick the bottom five drivers even before the lights have gone out it will soon not just be the bottom teams that have nothing to play for and with the spectre of 2026 looming Relegation is a tool used across sporting leagues to ensure teams at least try until the end but F1 is not set up to do this and considering they get a vote in such matters teams would never support the introduction of it But there does need to be something to encourage the lower teams to at least fight until the end of the season Money of course is a motive but considering a lot of teams are already profitable finishing lower down the order with its extra development benefits is a positive rather than the negative it should be Drivers and teams will explain it away as a focus for next season but for a sport that bills itself as the fastest in the world having some distinct backmarkers is not a great look Read next: How LEGO brought 10 life-size, fully-drivable F1 cars to life Lewis Hamilton's radio messages with race engineer Riccardo Adami grabbed much attention in Miami; however Lewis Hamilton has addressed his tense Ferrari radio conversations during the Miami Grand Prix by downplaying the severity of them and describing his messages as "sarcastic" The seven-time world champion started the sixth round of the season from a disappointing 12th on the grid but elevated into the top 10 after pitting during a virtual safety car.  Hamilton had remarkable pace on the medium compound helping him quickly catch team-mate Charles Leclerc for sixth Hamilton was eager to be allowed past, although Ferrari initially rejected the idea. It triggered some heated radio back-and-forths he then had to return the position in the final laps at the Miami International Autodrome yet the Briton has stressed that his radio discussions were not bad I really enjoyed the race," Hamilton told Sky F1 we knew it was going to be difficult today "We've lost some performance over the past and we're just waiting for a fix to regain some of it So for us to be at the back of the top 10 is definitely not easy for the whole team.  and I was really thinking I had potential to catch the guys.  But then obviously I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment "I feel people didn't like certain comments Check out the 2025 F1 calendar for an overview of all the races, with extensive background and real-time information.  Follow RacingNews365 on your favorite social media channels! specifically same-sex marriage and partnerships Picture by Gabriel FowlerHAMILTON Baptist Church has been kicked out of the NSW & ACT Baptist Association because of its stance on same-sex marriage All articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe decision was made at the Baptist Assembly held over the weekend and also impacts Canberra Baptist Church which has also been expelled from the association A statement from the association said it was governed by its churches They also have a shared identity and an agreed basis for associating together including a "long-established statement on marriage that was reviewed and reaffirmed in 2022" "Marriage is a covenant relationship ordained by God as a lifelong faithful union of one man and one woman Sexual intimacy outside such a marriage relationship is incompatible with God's intention for us as his people." In stark contrast to that, the following message appears on the Hamilton Baptist Church website: "We welcome people who are LGBTQI and celebrate the formation of lifelong intimate partnerships whether same-gender or opposite-gender". Lead pastor Andrew Dodd took up his post at the Hamilton Baptist church in 2003, and describes the church as embracing LGBTQI+ affirming theology. He has known for some years that his church was in a somewhat precarious position within the NSW Baptist denomination and was also aware the issue was being put to a vote at the weekend. "It's been coming for a long time," Mr Dodd said on Monday (May 5). There were some mixed feelings about the expulsion, but Mr Dodd said the congregation was feeling confident in their identity and was moving ahead with optimism and enthusiasm. "We could have withdrawn from the process anytime in the past six years but we wanted the organisation to have some accountability as to who they were removing," Mr Dodd said. The church was already going down the path of creating a new association known as the 'Open Baptists', he said, along with Canberra and five others. "We didn't want to be lone rangers," Mr Dodd said. Members of the church have expressed their disappointment in the move in a video posted on the church's website. One woman said she was heartbroken that the church couldn't now be a part of the broader association. Another member asked whether he was really being Christian, if he wasn't loving towards members of the "rainbow community", while a mother of four, with two gender non-conforming children, spoke about the value of acceptance she'd experienced at the church. The Association said the decision was the outcome of a clear process previously agreed by the Assembly, and included significant engagement with both churches. "We don't hold any animosity toward Canberra Baptist and Hamilton Baptist churches," the statement said. "We still respect and love them as churches and as people. We have processes and resources in place to continue to support them throughout this transition and into the future. This has been a challenging process, but many friendships remain and we wish both churches well." We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy Lewis Hamilton has delivered a telling claim about Ferrari's form as well as revealing it made a critical misstep during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton has delivered a damning indictment about Ferrari's current form in F1 after failing to reach the final stage of qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix The British driver slumped out of the grid-setting session in Q2 before highlighting how the Italian team is now battling Williams not the front-running rivals the Scuderia was expected to fight this season Mercedes and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen all looking strong at the Miami International Autodrome the Maranello-based squad looked resigned to settling for fourth quickest but it has not been able to compete with those teams at all but found himself out-performed by the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon slotting in directly behind the pair in eighth Hamilton scored a strong third-place finish in the sprint working his way up from seventh on the grid (de facto sixth after his team-mate aquaplaned into the wall and failed to start).  the seven-time F1 drivers' champion explained how the strategy call to come in for slick tyres early definitely" the 105-time grand prix winner replied to media when it was put to him that his sprint podium must have been a confidence boost Williams team principal] and his team are doing an amazing job.. It has been a difficult start to life at Ferrari for Hamilton who has struggled to match Leclerc for much of the campaign but the pair were much closer during qualifying in Florida Although the British driver will line up P12 there were less than six-hundredths of a second separating them in Q2 the 40-year-old revealed a costly mistake made by Ferrari a blunder that heavily contributed to him being dumped out the grid-setting session early "Charles was fortunate to get through with that [effort in Q2]," he recounted Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding as they talk through a chaotic day at the Miami Autodrome which featured the sprint race and qualifying for the grand prix Charles Leclerc insists he has “no bad feelings” with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton after controversial strategy calls saw the pair twice swap positions during the Miami Grand Prix Hamilton complained over team radio that he should be freed from behind Leclerc given he was on medium tyres compared to Leclerc on the hard compound and the seven-time world champion grew increasingly exasperated as he was kept from passing Leclerc was eventually told to let Hamilton through but, after he failed to catch Andrea Kimi Antonelli in sixth The Monegasque claimed he was unaware of Hamilton’s complaints and has no issues with his team-mate instead saying Ferrari itself has to improve in such situations so if anything he would struggle a bit more to go to the end than me but I understand as well that he wanted to try and do something different “I mean I would have done the same thing if I was him trying to be a bit more aggressive with the medium tyres Today was not ideal and was far from maximising our potential but we've got to regroup as a team and be better “I just think we maybe should have discussed a little bit more before doing the swap because obviously you are trying to go to the end with those tyres so I'm trying to do a good job with my tyres and then everything is tricky and I did not expect Carlos [Sainz] to be so close “All of this made the situation a bit trickier but again I think there's plenty for us to look at and we need to be robust enough that whenever we find ourselves in those situations we do better “I think we will be quite aligned on the fact that today wasn't the Sunday we wanted and even though the pace is not there If everything had gone perfectly maybe we would have finished in front of Kimi Leclerc himself gave a couple of feisty radio messages about hurting his tyres once in the dirty air of Hamilton but he did concede that the pair scrapping for the minor points positions also played a part “There is the frustration already that I was fighting for P8 at the time and I was not making any gains,” he added so there's the frustration of that and then all the rest I was trying to really keep them because I had already the first lap fighting with Carlos with the new tyres and that's not really what I wanted so then I had to take care of my tyres and that was it.” Lewis Hamilton hit out at Ferrari's decision making during a furious tirade on the team radio at the Miami Grand Prix Hamilton was angry after Ferrari made a controversial decision during the race Team-mate Charles Leclerc was in seventh place with an increasingly impatient Hamilton just behind him in eighth Hamilton stated: 'You want me to just sit here the whole race?' with the engineer replying 'I'll come back to you' He then added: 'In China I got out of the way when you were on a different strategy' Hamilton then crticised Leclerc as he said: 'This is not good team work After being informed that Carlos Sainz was 1.4 seconds behind him Hamilton sarcastically stated: 'You want me to let him past as well?' Hamilton finished the race in eighth place as his frustrating start at Ferrari continued The highest finish that Hamilton has secured so far this campaign was fifth place in Bahrain with Lando Norris finishing second and George Russell in third After the race Hamilton offered a more positive response, saying that he 'really enjoyed the race', as reported by Sky Sports. However, he acknowledged that Ferrari are 'not where we want to be'.  He said: 'I always knew it was going to be difficult today starting from 12th. We're not where we want to be. We're lacking a lot of pace, we've lost some performance over the past races. We know where it is and we're just waiting for a fix to regain some of it.  'For us to be at the back of the top ten is definitely not easy for the whole team. Once I got onto the medium tyre I was feeling really optimistic. The car was really coming alive and I was really thinking I had potential to catch the guys, I was hoping we had a safety car but that never came.' Reflecting on his comments on the team radio, Hamilton attempted to explain the situation. He said: 'I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment I was like 'Come on, let's make a concise decision real quick, let's not waste time. I'm sure people didn't like certain comments but you've got to understand it's frustrating. People say way worse things than I say.  'It was more sarcastic than anything. I'm not frustrated now. We'll work internally, we have discussions and we'll keep pushing.'  No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first. {{message}} Register | Sign in Lewis Hamilton's growing frustration with Ferrari finally boils over in a series of feisty radio exchanges the seven time world champion has educated the Maranello outfit in the art of sarcasm as the Italian team seeks to play down first signs of a rift The various issues with the car are one thing but when confronted with the Italian team's manana approach to strategy it was all too much for the Briton and having made his sole stop two laps later than Charles Leclerc was lapping faster than his teammate who had switched to hards "I'm just burning up my tyres behind him," said Hamilton "You want me to just sit here the whole race?" "We'll come back to you," he was told by his engineer is the equivalent of being told: "You're call is important to us you are number two in the queue!" Indeed all that was missing was the obligatory demand that staff be treated with respect and kindness.. Adami replied: "We want to keep the DRS to Charles A couple of laps later the Briton is given the all-clear to pass his teammate though it takes Leclerc some time to yield that's all I'm going to say," says Hamilton "We swapped the cars," says Adami "Have a tea break while you're at it," suggests the Briton and unable to make a dent on the gap to Kimi Antonelli ahead Hamilton is unable to shake off Leclerc behind "I need Lewis to go faster," urges Leclerc "Are we coming back on Antonelli?" ask Leclerc By now Hamilton is 2.4s down on Antonelli and Ferrari feels that Leclerc might have a better chance of catching the Mercedes "We are going to swap the cars into 17," Hamilton is told Crucially there appears to be some confusion over when the two drivers were told of the decision to swap for while Hamilton was willing to comply he did not want to lose out to the charging Carlos Sainz behind Leclerc is told: "Try again next lap." Otherwise we are going to lose more time than anything "Sainz 1.4 behind." Hamilton is told "You want me to let him past as well?" Hamilton dryly replies Hamilton was keen to make clear that it was heat of the moment sarcasm and not open criticism of the team revealing that when (team boss) Fred Vasseur had sought him out he told him to calm down "Fred came to my room," said the Briton "I just put my hand on his shoulder and said "I could have said way worse things on the radio," he added "You've got to understand we're under a huge amount of pressure within the car "You're never going to get the most peaceful messages coming through in the heat of the battle," he continued "It wasn't even anger," he insisted effing and blinding and anything like that I could feel a bit of it really coming up there I'm not going to apologise for being a fighter I'm not going to apologise for still wanting it and I truly believe that when we fix some of the problems that we have with the car we'll be back in the fight with the Mercedes "We'll try something different in the next race I look forward to a time when maybe I can fight for a podium "I can perfectly understand the frustration," said Vasseur It's never easy and I didn't see another team to do it today That's why we took the responsibility to do it because it's the policy to the team "We are racing for Ferrari first and honestly I think as a team we did a good job." Leclerc also questioned the way in which things had been handled insisting that he placed no blame on his teammate "I think the story is going to be big enough already," he told reporters but we've got to regroup as a team and be better." Asked if he would have given way to Hamilton without being instructed he would struggle a bit more to go to the end than me But I understand as well that he wanted to try and do something different," he added I would have done the same thing as if I was him and trying to be a bit more aggressive with the medium tyres "There's no bad feelings with Lewis," he insisted I understand that he wants to try and optimise as much as I want to try and optimise the car potential "You can argue that it would have been better to do it half a lap before or half a lap later," said Vasseur "But when you are on the pit wall and you have to understand if the car behind is faster than the car in front "It's always much easier to do it two hours later," he added Now the frustration when you are in the car "It's not the story of the day," the Frenchman insisted "I would be much more keen to speak about why we finished one minute behind McLaren." the story of the day is not the tea break or Sainz digs either but rather Hamilton's "you guys" comment as if he doesn't really feel part of the team Not for nothing did Ferrari go a couple of decades between Jody Scheckter and Michael Schumacher and not for nothing has the Maranello outfit allowed the likes of Prost Alonso and Vettel to slip through its fingers without making full use of their talent Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here Audi centralizes responsibilities in its F1 project Hamilton frustration goes public Miami Grand Prix: Race team notes - McLaren Red Bull protest fails Miami Grand Prix: Post Race press conference Sainz gets a warning Miami Grand Prix: Race team notes - Williams Miami Grand Prix: Race team notes - Alpine Miami Grand Prix: Race team notes - Red Bull Miami Grand Prix: Race team notes - Ferrari Miami Grand Prix: Driver Tyre Strategies Miami Grand Prix: Sprint & Qualifying team notes - Ferrari Miami Grand Prix: Post Sprint press conference Hamilton's magic is "still there", says Wolff Miami Grand Prix: Practice & Sprint Shootout notes - Ferrari Miami Grand Prix: FIA Drivers Press Conference Drivers unimpressed by Ben Sulayem's attitude Sainz unsurprised by Hamilton's Ferrari struggle Miami Grand Prix: Preview - Ferrari Click to go to the main galleries section or Register for a Pitpass ID to have your say Please note that all posts are reactively moderated and must adhere to the site's posting rules and etiquette A shame he seems to have jumped out of a frying pan & into the fire -Mercedes seem to have a decent car Ferrari have lost pace since day 1 & seem all at sea.The 'strategy' calls were ridiculous and clearly we are seeing that Leclerc is the favoured son." Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Lando Norris emerged as the winner in a dramatic Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix with the Briton making a perfectly timed pit stop during a late Safety Car period to hold the lead to the end ahead of McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri Heavy rain had fallen at the Miami International Autodrome prior to the event getting underway with the conditions catching out Charles Leclerc who crashed en route to the grid putting him out of the running before the Sprint had started And with visibility proving challenging when the formation lap began When the Sprint eventually got underway in improved conditions polesitter Kimi Antonelli lost out at the start to Piastri the McLaren man holding the inside line at Turn 1 to move ahead while Antonelli suffered a wide moment and slipped down to fourth And while Piastri held a steady lead for several laps – amid various drivers pitting for slick tyres in the changing conditions – a chaotic sequence of events later in proceedings saw Norris become the new leader after Piastri pitted a position the Briton held onto as he made his own stop just as the Safety Car was called following a crash for Fernando Alonso With Norris leading home Piastri for a McLaren 1-2 Lewis Hamilton took third place after pitting early in a solid strategy call from Ferrari while Williams’ Alex Albon was initially fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Haas’ Ollie Bearman in the rest of the points-paying positions following the Sprint it was confirmed that Albon Lawson and Bearman had all dropped out of the points with the Thai racer handed a five-second time penalty for not staying above the minimum time behind the Safety Car while Lawson received the same punishment for causing a collision with Alonso Bearman was also hit with a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from the pits with these changes promoting Russell to fourth and Stroll to fifth while Yuki Tsunoda Antonelli and Pierre Gasly moved up into sixth Following just one practice session on Friday Sprint Qualifying took place later in the day to decide the grid for the 100km dash in which points would be awarded to the top eight finishers from a maximum of eight for P1 down to one for P8 The closing moments of SQ3 provided a thrilling sequence of events as Antonelli put together a stunning lap to claim his maiden pole position the 18-year-old becoming F1’s youngest-ever polesitter in the process as he held off the McLarens of Piastri and Norris one change was confirmed to the grid as Yuki Tsunoda – who ended a challenging Sprint Qualifying in P18 – would start from the pit lane due to the set-up of the suspension on his Red Bull being changed under parc ferme conditions But there was further drama to come as torrential rain hit the Miami International Autodrome with the start time approaching – leading to Leclerc suffering a premature exit from the Sprint when he slid into the walls en route to the grid putting him out of the event before it had even begun Given the unpredictable nature of the conditions – with the rain having stopped prior to the 19-lap encounter starting – question marks remained over which tyre the pack would be starting on at the damp track And when the tyre blankets were removed ahead of the formation lap – which would take place behind the Safety Car – it was revealed that everybody had bolted on the intermediate tyres with the exception of Carlos Sainz on the full wets 2025 Miami GP Sprint: Leclerc crashes out on wet track on his way to the grid With plenty of spray being kicked up as the formation lap ensued Antonelli and Piastri reported struggles with visibility in the conditions while replays showed Max Verstappen going wide The Safety Car remained out on track to lead the field around – before a red flag was thrown resulting in all 19 cars returning to the pit lane and parking in the fast lane After that pause in the action – during which the conditions looked to have improved while Sainz made the switch from the wets to the intermediate tyres – it was announced that the Sprint would now get underway at 1228 local time The Safety Car again led the drivers out for another formation lap in preparation for a standing start on the much more raceable track As the lights went out for the remaining 15 laps of racing – with the formation laps having added towards the count – Antonelli struggled to launch as well as Piastri with the pair going into Turn 1 side-by-side before Piastri held the inside line to take the lead while Antonelli went wide dropping down behind Norris and Verstappen in the process The Mercedes driver took to the team radio to suggest that he had been pushed off the track just as Piastri began to build an early advantage from team mate Norris Elsewhere Alonso – still looking for his first points of the season – had enjoyed a strong start to move from P10 to P8 with Lawson also making gains in P9 after starting from P14 “It is drying very quickly,” Piastri reported having now extended his lead to 1.7s – and while his first corner incident with Antonelli was noted by Race Control it was then deemed that no investigation was necessary having been noted for a false start for being out of position – before this also was dismissed as requiring no further action It looked like an intra-team battle could be on the cards at Mercedes with Russell rapidly closing in on Antonelli in the fight for fourth place There was also plenty of action a little further back as Albon chased down Hamilton in a scrap for sixth the Williams driver being followed by Alonso in the process questions were arising over whether anybody would gamble on a switch to the slick tyres – and Tsunoda became the first to make a move diving into the pits for a set of used mediums to reemerge at the rear of the field Hamilton – who had been struggling for grip out on track – became the next to switch to slicks by bolting on the softs with Stroll and Sainz soon following suit for mediums A flurry of action then ensued as Verstappen and Antonelli pitted – only for contact to occur between them as Red Bull released their driver just as the Mercedes man tried to pull into his box resulting in debris scattering across the pit lane while the Italian was forced to continue on to the pit exit There was plenty of action throughout the field during the Sprint forcing him to return to the pits to retire It was not all smooth sailing for the Briton who reported debris out on track following Sainz’s issues with replays showing that the Williams driver spun and clipped the wall Norris subsequently pitted on Lap 15 – just as the Safety Car was called following a heavy crash for Alonso meaning that last year’s Miami Grand Prix winner was able to reemerge as race leader ahead of Piastri Verstappen – under investigation for that potential unsafe release in the pit lane – Albon It was soon confirmed that Verstappen had received a 10-second time penalty while replays showed that Alonso had been tagged by Lawson another incident that had been noted by Race Control and would be investigated after the Sprint As the Safety Car remained out on track for the final laps Norris ultimately crossed the line in P1 to take the Sprint victory ahead of Piastri marking the Briton’s first win since his triumph at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix With that penalty for Verstappen dropping the Dutchman down to the bottom of the order Hamilton followed the McLaren pair in third a solid result for the sole Ferrari in the event though the Thai driver was noted for a Safety Car infringement that will be looked at later with Lawson – another driver who was set to be investigated post-Sprint for that Alonso collision – and Bearman making up the top eight before those aforementioned penalties dropped Albon Norris took his first victory since the Australian Grand Prix by winning the Sprint "My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute so I’m happy," said Norris You box early – it paid off for Lewis and he had a good strategy – or do you stay out later and maybe get the Safety Car I would probably prefer if this happened tomorrow rather than today but I’ll take it A good job by the team so it was good fun." Following the Sprint, the drivers will next hit the track during Qualifying for the Grand Prix later on Saturday, with the session set to begin at 1600 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action. Cadillac unveil their team logo and brand during dazzling Miami launch event ahead of 2026 entry ‘Just to get into Q3 is tough’ – Hamilton admits Ferrari ‘struggling big time’ after exiting Miami Qualifying in P12 The page you requested could not be found There could be an error in the URL you entered into your browser why not take a look at some of the other great sections on the Express website: If it’s still a mystery don’t hesitate to contact us here order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive Daily Express uses notifications to keep you updated Lewis Hamilton was dumped out in Q2 for the Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton will start the Miami Grand Prix 12th at best following a mistake in qualifying The Ferrari driver was struggling on the brakes throughout the session and only narrowly escaped Q1 after a heavy lock-up at Turn 17 cost him his first lap He then used a second set of new soft tyres to get through another lock-up on his final lap left the seven-time champion outside the bubble for Q3 by 0.039s Hamilton also ran wide and lost time through Turns 1 and 2 on the lap Hamilton had finished third in the Sprint race earlier in the day.  There were contrasting emotions at Ferrari after an eventful Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton climb from P7 to P3 thanks to a well-timed strategy call while Charles Leclerc was forced to watch on following a crash en route to the grid prior to the event getting underway Heavy rain had fallen at the Miami International Autodrome ahead of the 100km dash, resulting in Leclerc sliding into the walls before the action had started The conditions subsequently triggered a red flag after the initial formation lap READ MORE: Norris wins chaotic Miami Sprint from Piastri and Hamilton after late Safety Car and multiple incidents With the track increasingly drying when the event eventually got going Hamilton was amongst the first to make a pit stop to switch from intermediate to slick tyres – a move that paid off as the seven-time World Champion made gains While various incidents played out across the final laps – with Max Verstappen dropping down the order owing to a 10-second time penalty for an unsafe release while a late Safety Car was called following a crash for Fernando Alonso – Hamilton ultimately took third behind the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri a result he was delighted with after some struggles during the first races of the campaign I’m so happy with that,” the 40-year-old said “It’s been a tough year so far but to have… I never thought it was going to rain in Miami It’s the first time we’ve all been on track in the wet here and what a race it provided us Reflecting further on the dramatic Sprint – and his decision to pit earlier than some of his rivals – Hamilton continued: “I really did struggle on the inters WATCH: Verstappen handed penalty for pit lane collision with Antonelli in eventful Miami Sprint “I made that call at the end and was like ‘I’m coming in’ because I was going nowhere so take the risk I wish we had another couple of laps to give these guys [Norris and Piastri] a bit of a fight could only think about what could have been following his pre-Sprint crash with the Monegasque taking responsibility for the error afterwards but at the end of the day I can only blame myself for it,” the 27-year-old explained “Going out with inters in those conditions was probably not the best choice but on the other hand these things shouldn’t happen “I felt a bit like a passenger because it’s in a straight line and it’s not like you are pushing in a straight line I was just cruising until I completely lost control of the car because of the aquaplaning and I had no way out of it HIGHLIGHTS: Norris pips Piastri in incident-filled Miami Sprint with help from late Safety Car now I need to move on because there’s a Qualifying in a few hours which I hope I’ll be able to take part of and if I do then I hope we can recover from a difficult beginning of the day.” Antonelli eager to ‘be ready for anything’ as he secures P3 in Qualifying after frustrating Miami Sprint outing LondonFinlay was a defiantly archaic figure with a fondness for plinths and marble But this show’s glorification of the guillotine proves he had a shallow this artist was an idiot Victoria Miro Gallery He appeals to anyone who’s sick of illiterate pop culture – a defiantly archaic figure who made no apology for his erudition apparently fascinated by Panzer tanks and the SS logo His fans insist it was all very nuanced but the Little Sparta website acknowledges “letters in which Finlay had made ‘anti-semitic’ remarks” Bizarre and brutal … Republic Photograph: © The Estate of Ian Hamilton Finlay Courtesy the Artist’s Estate and Victoria MiroThere are no Nazi images in this exhibition but Finlay’s interest in extremism and violence is unleashed in a series of bizarre and brutal conceptual artworks about the French Revolution Marshall McLuhan’s maxim “the medium is the message” is incised on a panel of black slate At first this looks like a witty transmutation of pop communication theory into engraved stone but then you see the drawn outline of a guillotine blade: the “medium” Finlay’s celebrating is the slaughter of the Terror during the French Revolution were decapitated in a bloody production line This is even more emphatic in a gnarled wooden reproduction of the block where a victim’s neck was held in place for the descending blade It is inscribed “Le Revolution est un bloc” (“The Revolution is a bloc”) – a quote from the politician Georges Clemenceau in 1891 meaning the French Revolution had to be taken as a whole changes its meaning: the Revolution requires bloodshed Candles on stools commemorate characters from the French Revolution including Robespierre Marble reliefs pay homage to the revolutionary neo-classical artist Jacques-Louis David and his propaganda masterpiece The Death of Marat a portrait of the revolutionary leader assassinated in his bath You may agree with Finlay that the Terror was a necessary purging The meaning of the French Revolution is still passionately debated I’m not offended by his love of the guillotine I am just saddened by the shallowness of an artist who fumed in his garden about the need to wipe out the filthy aristocratic pigs instead of making art with any kind of universal human content Artfully concealed behind the apparent weightiness of classical plinths and columns his take on life lacks seriousness or depth Someone who makes “provocative” Nazi references without apparently knowing what he meant by them is a fool not an intellectual Free weekly newsletterYour weekly art world round-up To the bloc with them all … Head of Dead Marat Photograph: © The Estate of Ian Hamilton Finlay Courtesy the Artist’s Estate and Victoria MiroThese Jacobin artworks were made in the wake of a controversy about his interest in the Third Reich In the late 1980s Finlay was commissioned to create a sculpture garden at Versailles for the bicentenary of the French Revolution but stories in the French press about his use of the SS logo his correspondence with Hitler’s architect Albert Speer and the revelation of his apparently antisemitic remarks in letters led to him losing this prestigious job These artworks about the French Revolution were created in the 1990s in the wake of this humiliation Perhaps his daft celebration of the guillotine is a longing for revenge It certainly proves Versailles dodged a bullet for these works are as crass as they are dry They are not the art of a deep thinker or true poet Why does he get in these knots of pseudo-erudition instead of addressing profound themes Looking at his classical works you might be reminded of the French artist Nicolas Poussin shepherds puzzle over an inscription on a stone monument that translates as “I too am in Arcadia” Finlay completely lacks the sobriety and truth of Poussin Rhetorically raving about the glories of Jacobin violence is the opposite of the melancholy insights of great art Ian Hamilton Finlay: Fragments is at Victoria Miro Gallery, London No driver on the 2025 Formula 1 grid has more experience of changing teams during the past decade than Williams’s Carlos Sainz which is why he is not surprised by Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton’s struggles This is not sour grapes from the driver who made way for the seven-time world champion or a reflection on the specific challenges of Ferrari machinery but instead what he’s learned as he’s switched from Toro Rosso to Williams via Renault And while Sainz has hit form with Williams after a shaky start showing strong pace in Bahrain but failing to convert that into a race result before heading the midfield battle on his way to eighth in Saudi Arabia he too has faced a steep learning curve with his new team Sainz attributes this to a combination of factors including the fact that both he and Hamilton are up against team-mates long established in their current teams in Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc and the enormous number of team-specific details that must be mastered to extract the maximum pace of the car I’m not surprised at all,” said Sainz of Hamilton’s struggles “When you are up against two team-mates like Alex and Charles that know the team inside out and are already performing at the maximum you can only do a little bit better or the same as them three tenths quicker because it’s not possible they are already at the limit of the car.“So when you jump to a new team and you're expected by yourself and by everyone around you to be at that level so it's going take a bit of time and the sooner you make that process and the sooner you are at that level the better.“But for some drivers Lewis had an amazing weekend in China then seemed to be having a bit more trouble now but it's going take to time.”When put to him by The Race that the process is made even more difficult given the characteristics of this generation of ground-effect F1 car thanks to the narrow window and tricky characteristics He pointed to what he called the ‘closed loop’ driving style that must be adapted to whereas older cars could be made to respond to different techniques.“This is a good point because I would say so,” said Sainz in response to The Race’s question “You need to drive them in a very specific way to be quick you could come in with two or three different driving styles and more or less get to the same laptime because the car would allow you to get to that limit in different ways “The more I get to drive this generation of cars the more I realise you need to be closed loop to one driving style and if you don't drive in that way which allows you to drive in that specific way that you need to make sure you understand I think these cars are particularly difficult.”When Sainz’s comments were put to Alpine driver Esteban Ocon “I don’t think there are two ways of driving it there’s no other direction you can drive the car you need to choose the quickest way and that’s it” Ocon also offered further insight into Hamilton’s struggles given his historic familiarity with the way Mercedes works as well as the process he’s gone through in adapting to a Haas car that’s built around Ferrari components.“It’s very difficult especially when you change car philosophy,” said Ocon “The Haas and Ferrari cars have a lot of similarities so I can relate a little bit to Lewis on that side Having driven the Merc as well in the past it's a very different way of driving the car but I'm sure he'll find a way very quickly.” Sainz’s characterisation of the need to adapt and the argument that a driver will never be quick without doing so is particularly pertinent given Hamilton’s self-confessed need to adapt his driving style He has even alluded to concerns he might not be able to adapt saying in Jeddah that “I might be just so stuck in it that it’s never going to change” and quipping that he required “a brain transplant” to get on top of the car he struggled with confidence in the high-speed corners and with the rear-end instability that Leclerc has been able to adapt to which was also reflected in his approach to braking – in itself something he’s had to get used to given he’s using Brembo brakes rather than the Carbon Industrie components used at Mercedes He also struggled to match Leclerc’s corner speed in slower turns leading to consistent laptime loss throughout the lap He’s talked of unfamiliarity with the way Ferrari utilises certain car characteristics and behaviours dynamically saying in Bahrain that “we never used engine braking but here we used a lot of engine braking to turn the car” Sainz says this is just one example of multiple details drivers must get used to.“This is just one of the 15 things that you have to relearn,” said Sainz “Some teams like to use engine braking to turn the car others just prefer using more the differential others more the setup of the car naturally put front end with aero others with ride.“You cannot imagine the amount of variation variability that can make the car get to a similar lap time in just completely different ways at least one of the 15-20 things that I'm trying to still figure out I'm trying high engine braking in Williams to see if it works just to see what the car likes and what it doesn't others that they don't.“It’s that fight and that process that I enjoy  but as long as you enjoy it and embrace it you know you're going to get it wrong a few times but when you click and you get to ah this works it's actually a eureka moment that feels good.” Hamilton had the demeanour in Saudi Arabia of a man simultaneously in dire need of although he has vowed to keep working to adapt to the Ferrari it’s impossible to be precise in defining how long it takes for any driver to adapt to a new team.  “It’s a tricky question,” he said when asked what an acceptable period of time is for this process “It depends how naturally the car comes to you it depends how natural the relationship with the engineers and that blend that comes [with the team is].“I've always said that to know a car well you need at least half a year to a year to experience everything with that car That doesn't mean that you cannot perform during that year or at 99 and your 99 might still be pretty good there's things that you need for sure half a year to experience.“I'm not using it as an excuse I want to perform like I did in Jeddah from race one even if I am at 97 but I just know it takes time Carlos Sainz has shared some first-hand insight into what Formula 1 drivers experience when they change teams amid the media interest over his and Lewis Hamilton’s respective adaptations at Williams and Ferrari Hamilton took Sainz’s place at the Scuderia for the 2025 season in a blockbuster driver market move with the Spaniard making the switch to Williams as a result – meaning they had all-new environments to get used to over the winter READ MORE: Norris outlines area for improvement in Miami as he explains why he’s ‘not worried’ about Piastri taking championship momentum Sainz and Hamilton have both experienced up-and-down campaigns so far but while the former now appears to have made a breakthrough the latter has cut a dejected figure at recent events as he bids to understand Ferrari’s package and get on terms with team mate Charles Leclerc During Thursday’s media activities ahead of the Miami Grand Prix Sainz gave his thoughts on the challenge of joining a new squad – something he did at Renault and McLaren – and what Hamilton is likely to be going through Sainz and Hamilton are both adapting to life with their new teams in 2025 “It is extremely demanding and a lot more difficult than what people think,” said Sainz “I think some people think that we use it as a bit of an excuse when we change teams “It makes our life extremely demanding back in the simulator and in the factory trying to learn every possible thing about the car especially when you have an experienced team mate in the team [it’s] having Alex [Albon] that knows the car so well so for me to jump in and try to be close to his level is demanding “The same will happen to Lewis with Charles it is an approach that can take months and sometimes it can take a third or half of a year to adapt Sainz: I'm hopeful we can be fast 'out of the box' in Miami and I have been through that process fortunately and if you approach it with the right mindset it always comes.” Sainz was speaking off the back of his best performance of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where he qualified a fine sixth and took the chequered flag in eighth position READ MORE: Soundtrack artists including Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran and Don Toliver announced for upcoming ‘F1’ movie “There have been two races where I have been strong I’m in that process of cracking the code and in Saudi was probably proof of it “I still feel that I’m going to need a few more races and I think I’m going to need to go through some good and bad experiences still to discover some things from the car and the team Red Bull's protest into Russell over yellow flags rejected by Miami stewards Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade Lewis Hamilton quipped that there was some “dirty driving” from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly after they tangled ahead of the Miami Grand Prix And that hit came when the 20 Formula 1 drivers got their chance to take fully drivable and team bespoke LEGO big build cars for a drive around the Miami International Autodrome replacing the usual drivers’ parade procedure It was quite the effort to put together these life-size as the stars of F1 took them for a drive in front of the Miami audience ahead of the Grand Prix Capturing all the details of the real F1 cars, down to sponsor logos and authentic Pirelli tyres, Hamilton said that was the “most fun drivers’ parade” he has ever taken part in quite the statement considering he has been a part of the F1 grid since 2007 which was muscling between the Ferrari and Mercedes LEGO cars down the back straight with these cars reaching speeds of 20 km/h it was a very low-speed tap for F1 standards Hamilton spoke with a broad smile about the experience after exiting the Ferrari “That was the most fun drivers’ parade we’ve ever had,” he began “Some dirty driving from this one here [Gasly] because obviously when we’re on track big thank you to everyone in Miami for having us.” 👉 FIA release lightning procedures as stormy weather threatens Miami GP 👉 Untelevised Lewis Hamilton radio message uncovered in key Miami GP call Miami GP polesitter Max Verstappen joked that before lights out the track would need some attention after that Ferrari and Alpine collision “I do think they have to sweep the track because there is quite a bit of LEGO debris now on the track,” he said with a smile “A few cars collided along the way.” He joked that he and Yuki Tsunoda were lacking a bit of “top speed” in the LEGO Red Bull as the focus switched to the Miami Grand Prix from there Read next: How LEGO brought 10 life-size, fully-drivable F1 cars to life WATCH NOW: Lewis Hamilton spends time with his dog Lewis Hamilton has downplayed the tense radio exchanges with Ferrari during the Miami Grand Prix describing his messages as "sarcastic" rather than expressions of frustration The seven-time world champion engaged in heated back-and-forth communications with his team after catching team-mate Charles Leclerc during Sunday's race "I feel people didn't like certain comments people say way worse things than I say," Hamilton told Sky F1 The veteran started the sixth round of the season from a disappointing 12th position on the grid He managed to elevate himself into the top 10 after pitting during a virtual safety car Hamilton displayed remarkable pace on the medium compound tyres This strong performance helped him quickly catch up to Leclerc The British driver was eager to be allowed past his team-mate although Ferrari initially rejected this request JUST IN: McLaren dominate Miami Grand Prix with one-two finish as Max Verstappen misses out on podium finish Lewis Hamilton finished eighth during the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday This triggered some heated radio exchanges between Hamilton and the Ferrari pit wall with the team eventually allowing Hamilton to overtake Leclerc the Briton then had to return the position to his teammate in the final laps at the Miami International Autodrome Despite the apparent tension in these communications Hamilton has stressed that his radio discussions were not as bad as they might have seemed The exchanges came as Hamilton was pushing to maximise his race position after finding good pace on the medium tyres READ MORE:Andy Murray lands completely different job alongside Novak Djokovic coaching role I really enjoyed the race," Hamilton told Sky F1 We've lost some performance over the past and we're just waiting for a fix to regain some of it." Hamilton remained optimistic despite the challenges I just will work internally," he added and I was really thinking I had potential to catch the guys." He clarified that his radio messages were more light-hearted than they appeared "It was more sarcastic than anything," Hamilton insisted Leclerc was disappointed as Ferrari endured yet another difficult day at the office Lewis Hamilton was well off the pace as Oscar Piastri won the Miami Grand Prix I think I will unfortunately go for the boring answer and I’m not going to comment too much here," he said "It’s obvious today is not the way we want to manage a race we will discuss internally to make better decisions "There’s no bad feelings for Lewis [Hamilton] absolutely not it’s just as a team we need to do better and today was a proof of that For the rest I don’t want to speak more into the details." Charles Leclerc is “only seeing the benefits” of a more extreme set-up direction on his Ferrari that has moved him clear of new Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton While Hamilton’s start at Ferrari has become increasingly difficult and left the seven-time world champion looking and sounding forlorn at times Leclerc’s 2025 F1 season is going from strength to strength He scored his first podium of the year in Saudi Arabia which was also Ferrari’s first in a grand prix following Hamilton’s sprint race win in China Leclerc’s turning point seems to be a new set-up direction from the Japanese Grand Prix which he described at the time as “quite extreme” and an idea he’d wanted to try for a few weeks Leclerc has never elaborated on the details of the set-up only repeatedly referring to it as more extreme and something new for him When asked by The Race in Miami on Thursday if it was across the whole car or in a specific area Leclerc said: “I'm not obviously going to go too much into details but it's just made the car a little bit trickier especially when you are on the limit in qualifying “It takes a few races in order to re-adapt everything around the car in order to go into that direction which is the process that we are going through at the moment and in the last races has been paying off “That doesn't necessarily mean that it will pay off for every race so we still need to keep that open minded approach and make sure that we can reverse “But we are still exploring in that direction and still pushing into that direction As Leclerc references the increased rear instability that has come from his changes the indication is that he has more broadly gone “extreme” in terms of car characteristic rather than focused on one specific set-up item that is much more aggressive than before Leclerc has always thrived in a car with a strong front end He dislikes understeer and has tremendous ability to cope with excessive rear instability - as long as it's predictable Based on the advantage Leclerc has held over Hamilton in high-speed corners since Japan regularly holding a higher minimum cornering speed it suggests Leclerc is tolerating a little more instability in the entry to quicker turns This mitigates some of the problematic understeer that tends to come later in the corner in the Ferrari The qualifying results against Hamilton have swung drastically since Having been two tenths faster than Hamilton in Australia then two tenths slower and one tenth slower in China sprint and main qualifying respectively then six tenths faster in Bahrain and half a second ahead in Saudi Arabia seven and three places on the grid respectively Hamilton has been doubtful of turning things around And he seemed subdued again in Miami on Thursday especially when asked about his adaptation to the Ferrari and the tricky performances “The engineers I'm working with now are used to setting up a car for a different driver and a different driving style and I'm used to driving a car with a different driving style,” said Hamilton “So it’s a combination of a bunch of different things.” Asked if he is able to drive this car instinctively Hamilton said: “You're generally always a mixture of the two but I’m definitely working hard to adjust to this one for sure.” and potentially exaggerated by Leclerc’s “extreme” approach that Hamilton has struggled to follow Hamilton hoped his emerging deficit would be explained by different set-up choices and that a new floor would help him in particular Hamilton’s set-up converged more with his - which suggests he cannot quite make it work very difficult to compare drivers’ feelings because if you don't feel at ease there's always something that you struggle with more than the other driver and that's why you cannot go as fast,” said Leclerc we've gone in quite extreme directions in terms of set-up in order to extract a bit more out of the car so I feel like I'm changing quite a lot of my driving style in order to fit the new requirements from this car it's been seven years that I've been with Ferrari so there are most likely things that are also very natural to me now after so many years with the team that I don't realise - even though I feel like I've been driving quite differently this year just because this car requires a different set-up and a different way of driving.” Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari need upgrades after he qualified 12th and Charles Leclerc eighth in another disappointing result for the team A podium for Hamilton in the sprint proved to be a small positive in a day of negatives for Ferrari which saw Leclerc crash before the sprint race even started then both drivers struggled in qualifying Hamilton was complaining about the car’s drivability when he locked up in Q1 he was not in the session much longer – finishing in 12th Hamilton was adamant the team needed upgrades “The sprint race was better than qualifying but we are where we are,” he told media including PlanetF1.com we’ve got lots of things that need to be better.” saying he tried “everything” and even if he did make it to Q3 he did not predict a position much than what his team-mate achieved “I don’t feel it in my heart and as I said I probably would have been in Q3 and then maybe I’ll be eighth or ninth with Charles so it doesn’t make a huge difference we are trying and we don’t have the pace.” Hamilton said they were being outqualified by Williams who had Alex Albon in seventh and Carlos Sainz in sixth James [Vowles] and his team are doing an amazing job “Charles was fortunate to get through with that new tyre Toto Wolff calls out ‘total lack of judgement’ from Red Bull after dangerous pit stop error Revealed: Data shows what really happened between Antonelli and Piastri Leclerc meanwhile was frustrated that he felt he got the maximum out of the car and still did not challenge the front runners I feel like we are maximizing the potential of the car,” he said “It shows that the potential of the car is just not there “When I finished a lap again today in qualifying I think a track like this also highlights our weaknesses There’s a lot of low-speed corners and both Williams are in front of us and I consider my lap a good one “So I think it’s pretty easy to understand where we are lacking.” Read next: Miami GP: Max Verstappen on pole as Lewis Hamilton errors bite The seven-time world champion replaced Sainz as Charles Leclerc’s team-mate for 2025 but the Shanghai sprint is the only time Hamilton has beaten the Monegasque in the five race weekends thus far.  Sainz similarly struggled against his new team-mate Alex Albon to begin with as Saudi Arabia last time out was the first grand prix he beat his Williams counterpart in.  it does not shock the four-time race winner that he and Hamilton have initially struggled against their team-mates believing it will take time to catch up.  "I'm not surprised at all," said Sainz ahead of this weekend's Miami Grand Prix "I expected it for myself and I expected it with him "Because when you are up against two team-mates like we are and they are already performing at the maximum that that car can perform you can only do just a little bit better or the same as them They are already at the limit of the car.   “When you jump to a new team and you're expected by yourself and by everyone around you to be at that level and the sooner you make that process and the sooner you are at that level There are many reasons why Sainz believes patience is needed to become as quick as their new team-mates as the Spaniard claimed there are “15 things that you have to relearn”.  “You cannot imagine the amount of variation variability just to make the car get to a similar lap time in just completely different ways,” Sainz added "I'm trying high engine braking in Williams to see if it works but I'm trying everything every weekend just to see what the car likes and what it doesn't.   and I think it's that fight and that process that I enjoy and that you're going to get wrong many times “But as long as you enjoy it and you just embrace it you know you're gonna get it wrong a few times but you're also gonna ‘this works,’ it's actually a eureka moment that feels good.”   Sainz hasn’t yet had his “eureka moment” yet and warned that it may not come for him or Hamilton anytime soon the Williams racer said that learning a new team new car and all-new processes could take more than six months.   you need at least half a year to a year to experience everything with that car,” he added.  “That doesn't mean that you cannot perform during that year there are things that you need half a year Martin Brundle observed the Ferrari driven by Lewis Hamilton “all over the place” in combat with Lando Norris in Saudi Arabia that Ferrari SF-25 is not set up in a way which best compliments Hamilton’s driving style after a challenging start to Ferrari life for the seven-time World Champion A settling-in period for Hamilton at Ferrari was widely expected he has begun his Ferrari career in underwhelming fashion Yet to finish a grand prix ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc while the one-lap gap to Leclerc was over half a second in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Hamilton has made a series of downbeat statements as he struggles to get to grips with the Ferrari challenger The SF-25 is an F1 machine which Hamilton is struggling to gel with and after watching Hamilton battling with Norris during the early stages of the Saudi Arabian GP Brundle believes this was clearly displayed the car is not set up well for Lewis’ driving style,” Brundle Lando catching him and we saw on the onboard camera “We’ve seen him win races where I felt sure in a wheelie bin “In terms of where the buttons are on the steering wheel and all that sort of thing… We do all that in the sim whichever way Lewis is trying to take that car 👉 Miami Grand Prix here to stay as massive calendar extension signed 👉 Revealed: Three bold predictions for the 2025 Miami Grand Prix Hamilton gave a fresh assessment of his Ferrari situation ahead of the race weekend admitting that “lots of things” are currently holding him back Asked what is getting in the way of consistent performance and comfort for him at Ferrari he insisted that he is shutting down the outside noise “I try not to really focus on opinions of people that have no insight into actually what is going on – insights from individuals that have never been in my position,” he added I just keep my head down and try to continue to enjoy the work that I do with the people I work with.” Hamilton sits P7 in the current Drivers’ Championship standings two positions and 16 points behind Leclerc Read next: Lewis Hamilton reveals ‘power seat’ ambition at F1’s top table Lewis Hamilton has revealed he told Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur to "calm down" and "don't be so sensitive" following a heated radio exchange during the Miami Grand Prix The seven-time world champion disclosed the conversation that took place in his room after the race I just put my hand on his shoulder and said Don't be so sensitive,'" Hamilton told the written media He defended his radio comments by explaining the pressure drivers face during races "We're under a huge amount of pressure in the cars you're never going to get the most peaceful messages come through in the heat of the battle," he added Hamilton became frustrated during Sunday's race in Miami when he closed on team-mate Charles Leclerc with superior pace The Ferrari driver was not immediately allowed to pass his teammate to chase down Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes for sixth position "I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment let's not waste time,'" Hamilton said "I'm sure people didn't like certain comments JUST IN: Lewis Hamilton makes feelings clear after angry radio outbursts in Miami Grand Prix The radio exchanges between Hamilton and Ferrari became increasingly tense during the race After initially being told to wait when requesting to pass Leclerc Ferrari then decided they would keep the current order Hamilton angrily responded that this was "not good teamwork" and referenced the Chinese Grand Prix when he had let Leclerc through The team eventually changed their decision and switched the cars READ MORE: Andy Murray lands completely different job alongside Novak Djokovic coaching role Hamilton was heard saying: "Have a tea break while you're at it when told to let Leclerc back through and informed of his gap to the car behind Hamilton sarcastically asked if they wanted him to "let [Carlos] Sainz through as well" The situation arose due to the Ferrari team-mates starting on different tyre compounds found himself on the faster medium tyres compared to Leclerc's hard following the only round of pit stops The pair had both passed Sainz in the same corner to move into seventh and eighth positions Hamilton immediately requested that the pit wall switch the cars Hamilton felt crucial life had been taken out of his tyres while trailing Leclerc This prevented him from making major inroads into Antonelli's advantage ahead Lewis Hamilton was left unhappy during Sunday's Miami Grand Prix Hamilton later reflected that his radio comments could have been much worse "I could have said way worse things on the radio You hear some of the things other people have said in the past," he explained The Ferrari driver also admitted that some of his messages contained sarcasm Hamilton appeared to downplay the significance of the incident after speaking with Vasseur Lewis Hamilton addressed comments he made over team radio during the Miami Grand Prix, where he tried to convince his Ferrari Formula 1 team to grant him a switch with Charles Leclerc suggesting "people might not like them" and brushed them off as just "sarcastic.” Reflecting on his race, Hamilton noted that he felt pent up behind Leclerc while on the medium tyres, and was of the opinion that he could catch Andrea Kimi Antonelli had the Ferrari pit wall taken action sooner Ferrari eventually acquiesced and Hamilton made up ground on the Mercedes driver but progress appeared to stall out and the Scuderia decided to enact a switch-back to give Leclerc the chance to catch Antonelli Although Hamilton admitted being frustrated while stuck behind Leclerc he seemed generally enthused by his race and stated that he was optimistic of making progress before tucking up behind his team-mate's rear wing I generally enjoyed the race – I think this weekend whilst we're not as quick as we want to be I feel like I had a better weekend in general," Hamilton said but starting 12th it was very hard to overtake here I got onto the medium tyre and I felt the car really come alive and I felt super optimistic in that moment "All I could see is a Mercedes ahead and I was thinking maybe we can get up to sixth or something but we lost a lot of time in those laps [behind Leclerc] and I didn't think the decision came quick enough I have no problems with either team or with Charles Hamilton accepted that the team had a difficult job in trying to ensure it treated both drivers equally but he was of the view that the team should prioritise the faster car and switch back if the move couldn’t be made His main issue was in the team's insistence that it would "come back to him" over his radio calls and he asked for snappier decisions from the team I could have said way worse things on the radio like some of the things that other people have said in the past You've got to understand that we're under a huge amount of pressure within the cars You're never going get the most peaceful messages come through in the heat of battle it wasn't like I was effing and blinding – just make a decision The defending world champion, Max Verstappen, had a shocker, demoted from fourth to 17th after he was penalised for an unsafe release in the pit lane by his Red Bull team. It was a blow to the Dutchman’s title defence as he dropped to 21 points behind Piastri who leads the championship. Verstappen said he was relieved no one was hurt and the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, said it had been “human error” Read moreNorris demonstrated great control in what was decidedly inclement weather A burst of heavy rain had engulfed the circuit before the race and the formation lap started behind the safety car Visibility was poor and after a single lap the race was red-flagged It had already caught out Charles Leclerc who sput his Ferrari in the wall on the formation lap taking damage that prevented him from starting the race once more opening behind the safety car before taking a standing start for the remaining 16 laps and in the short dash to turn one Piastri pounced from second on the grid to pass the Mercedes of pole sitter Kimi Antonelli Wet weather made for fraught conditions at the Miami International Autodrome Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPAPiastri’s quick start paid off and having gained clear air he immediately stretched his legs and opened a gap appearing to be in complete control from Norris and Verstappen just past the midway point the race turned taking slick rubber was an option by lap 11 and Ferrari opted to bring Hamilton in early and he he moved up to third Verstappen also stopped for new tyres but was released into the path of Antonelli and the pair clashed with the Dutchman taking damage to his front wing and taking a 10-second penalty took a look at what the Europeans were doing at Ferrari Aston Martin and Jaguar and decided the could build a better car Victories came at the 1958 LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside Raceway and their front-engined racers would go on to enter 93 races with 39 wins and 32 podium finishes until 1963 In F1 they competed in just one full season – 1960 – racing in six of the 10 grands prix finishing 10th with Chuck Daigh at the US Grand Prix Dan Gurney and the Le Mans winner Carroll Shelby founded All American Racers in 1964 and competed in various classes before taking a crack at F1 with patriotically named Eagle The stars and stripes team were based in Rye East Sussex and ran with British‑built Weslake engines Gurney achieved the first “all-American” victory in a grand prix since Jimmy Murphy’s triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix An American team has yet to repeat that double feat The last American team to win a race – the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix with the Northern Irishman John Watson (below) at the wheel but their PC1 cars made their debut in 1974 They scored no points that year and the following season was marred by the death of their driver Mark Donohue A fully fledged American team returned to F1 in 2016 they are still blazing the trail with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman at the wheel with a lone pole claimed in Brazil in 2022 The General Motors behemoth is eager to tap into the Race to Survive/Gen Z market so is launching a team with its premier marque on the car next year Photograph: Klemantaski Collection/Hulton ArchiveWas this helpful?Thank you for your feedback.McLaren had to react and pitted first Piastri The Briton came in just when the safety car was called after Fernando Alonso crashed out Enough to squeeze out of the pit lane just in front of Piastri to take the lead which he held behind the safety car to the flag who has endured a trying time in the Ferrari since he took victory at the sprint race in Shanghai it was something to enjoy for the team and gave him some optimism that he could further improve in qualifying “It’s definitely been not so great obviously since China.” “Coming into this weekend we have made some changes but we have more to do in order to be fighting more consistently at the front We just need to knuckle down and I do believe that we can get some better results.” having taken the first in Brazil last year and closes the gap to championship leader Piastri to nine points Before the sprint race the McLaren team principal upped the ante in his spat with Red Bull by demanding a change in F1 regulations to prevent teams making what he described as “bogus allegations” Brown made a light -hearted reference to suggestions last year that McLaren were injecting water into their tyres to keep them cool On the pit wall Brown was seen drinking from a water bottle labelled “tire water” he described it as poking fun at a “serious issue” and that allegations made should go through a strict official process via the FIA and should be accompanied by a financial cost deducted from a team’s budget cap to deter unfounded accusations Lando Norris talks to Lewis Hamilton who finished on the podium after the sprint race Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters“That process should be extended to all allegations to stop the frivolous allegations which are intended only to be a distraction,” he said “If you had to put up some money and put on paper and not back channel what your allegations are that would be a way to clean up the bogus allegations that happen in this sport which are not very sporting “If someone does believe there’s a technical issue by all means you’re entitled to it It should come against your cost cap if it turns out you’re wrong.” Brown cited a figure of $25,000 (£19,000) as what he believed would be a sufficient deterrent “Would I spend 25 grand on a distraction tactic or development of my own race car I’d spend 25 grand on my race car all day long,” he said “It doesn’t need to be hundreds of thousands but it needs to be meaningful enough that you’re taking away performance you spend on your car.” Yuki Tsunoda sixth for Red Bull and Pierre Gasly eighth for Alpine Ferrari had driver swap chaos to contend with between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in Miami Charles Leclerc admitted he has “no problem” with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton after team order drama during the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix with Hamilton behind on the softer Medium compound and asking Ferrari to execute a swap to chase down the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli up ahead It took several laps for Ferrari to deliberate the move who was then unable to encroach upon Antonelli and a swap back was instigated this took more than a single lap with miscommunication from the pit wall to the two Ferrari drivers who asked if his Race Engineer if he should also let the Williams of Carlos Sainz by as well Leclerc held no ill will towards his team-mate today I don’t think I’ll say anything,” Leclerc told select media including Motorsport Week.  “I think the story is going to be big enough already “Today was not ideal and was far from maximising our potential but we’ve got to regroup as a team and be better.” Asked if he’d have considered letting Hamilton by without a team order the Monegasque acknowledged he’d have been arguing the same if he was in Hamilton’s position “I understand as well that he wanted to try and do something different “I would have done the same thing as if I was him and trying to be a bit more aggressive with the medium tyres.  “I understand that he wants to try and optimise as much as I want to try and optimise the car potential Leclerc argued that discussions should have been held pre-race regarding driver swaps to avoid issues on track “I think we should have discussed a little bit more before doing the swap because you’re trying to go to the end with those tyres,” he said.  “I’m trying to do a good job with my tyres and then everything is tricky I did not expect Carlos to be so close.  but I think there’s plenty for us to look at.  we need to do a step and we need to be robust enough that whenever we find ourselves in those situations That was severely lacking for Ferrari in Miami and the GP saw two McLarens “There’s the frustration already that I was fighting for P8 at the time and I was not making any gains,” Leclerc siad.  “The radio doesn’t always… In this case but the radio is not always the real picture.” Leclerc has no doubt he and Hamilton will work together to improve Ferrari’s situation “I think we will be quite aligned,” he said.  “On the fact that today wasn’t the Sunday we wanted I don’t think there were any miracles.  maybe we would have finished in front of Kimi [Antonelli] so I think we need to separate the two things.  we need to fix those issues that probably cost us one position but the other seven or six positions are down to the car READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton almost repeated Charles Leclerc crash before surprise Miami Sprint F1 podium and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Click here for the full 2025 F1 calendar Click here for full Drivers’ Standings Charles Leclerc was left downbeat about Ferrari’s pace struggles after ending Sprint Qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix in P6 with team mate Lewis Hamilton – who will line up in P7 – also acknowledging that that there is “definitely work to do to pick up speed” Arriving into the weekend off the back of scoring his maiden podium of the season in Saudi Arabia Leclerc ended Friday’s sole practice session at the Miami International Autodrome in second place on the timesheets READ MORE: Antonelli storms to remarkable maiden pole ahead of Piastri and Norris during Sprint Qualifying in Miami the Scuderia were unable to match the likes of Mercedes McLaren and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Sprint Qualifying leaving Leclerc disappointed by the final result Asked how he was feeling about P6 following the session but the pace is just not at all there for now Leclerc: ‘The lap was good but the pace is just not at all there’ Pushed on where the big losses had been during Friday’s running it’s not like we are particularly weak in one type of corner the slow speed seems to be a bit more of our weakness but it changes from one weekend to the other HIGHLIGHTS: Catch all the Miami Sprint Qualifying action as Antonelli makes history with maiden pole Hamilton echoed his team mate’s sentiments about the pace difficulties though the seven-time World Champion had some positive words about how Sprint Qualifying had unfolded “I thought it was a better session,” said Hamilton the car was a bit nicer to drive in FP1 but yeah [We’ll] just keep working on it from there.” ‘There’s definitely work to do to pick up speed’ – Hamilton on P7 in Sprint Qualifying On whether he expects to be able to make up much ground in Saturday’s Sprint And in terms of if there are any ideas about what could be done differently ahead of main Qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix the Briton commented: “There are always ideas whether or not they are going to be right or not but there [are] definitely learnings to take from today set-up changes we made and how the car behaved F1 EXPLAINS: The making of the Miami Grand Prix “There is definitely work to do to pick up speed going into the rest of the weekend.” Norris concedes he 'paid the price' as he reflects on Lap 1 battle with Verstappen in Miami the streets of Hamilton formed New Zealand’s Supercars home The North Island city hosted an annual round on five successive occasions from 2008-12 as things temporarily shifted away from Pukekohe and delivered a mix of interesting results and spectacular moments Inspired by the popularity of our features on the now-defunct Surfers Paradise International Raceway and Canberra Street Circuit V8 Sleuth made a recent stop at Hamilton to investigate The most obvious remnants from that period are the even-numbered grid boxes which remain on what was the pit straight They go all the way back from second to 32nd with the occasional sign of an odd-numbered slot on the inside of the Mill St/Seddon Rd corner) appears part of where the pitlane area once was there’s little left in terms of actual racetrack DNA though some sections maintain a degree of familiarity more than others the Samsung Sweeper which ran anti-clockwise around the roundabout intersecting Norton Rd Less recognisable, on the other hand, is the high-speed chicane that broke up the back straight where Jason Richards memorably got airborne in 2009 That now is a run-of-the-mill roundabout connecting King St and Lake Rd MORE: The fate of the Mark Porter Trophy Hamilton’s 2008 debut saw Steven Richards become the track’s inaugural pole-sitter before Garth Tander swept the three race wins – but is best known for the qualifying clash between Todd Kelly and Jamie Whincup that wiped the latter out of the entire weekend Whincup responded by sweeping the four races across 2009-10 Steven Johnson collecting his second and final Supercars pole position there in ’09 2011 was all about firsts: Kelly Racing grabbing its maiden victory through Rick Kelly on the Saturday (backed up by older brother Todd finishing third) before Shane van Gisbergen broke through the following day for his first main game win And then 2012 was a Ford Performance Racing fest as Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom shared the spoils with financial trouble spelling the end for the event and sparking a return to Pukekohe Lewis Hamilton cut a frustrated figure during the Miami Grand Prix, as a controversial incident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen cost the Brit a race win Hamilton made the remarks after the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, had intimated in a post on social media this week that he was considering adjusting the rules around the unpopular and controversial punishments for drivers for offences including political statements and swearing. Read moreBen Sulayem’s statement follows events at the last round in Saudi Arabia where Max Verstappen suggested he was unwilling to answer questions over a stewarding decision because he felt the strictures of FIA regulations might cause him to be fined if he expressed a certain opinion The issue has been a bone of contention between drivers and the FIA since last year, when Verstappen was punished for swearing in a press conference The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) the body which represents the 20 F1 drivers then wrote an open letter to the FIA calling on the governing body to treat them like adults and to discuss the issues Hamilton believed the drivers were not being given due consideration We want to be able to work closely with the FIA,” he said we’ve faced a bit of an uphill challenge in that communication over time Ultimately we don’t hold a power seat at the table and that needs to change in my opinion If you look at other sports that have unions that may be something that comes into play at some stage we just want to collaborate with them more and have our voices heard.” The GPDA is a private limited company with a formal constitution but not a registered trade union such as the Professionl Footballers’ Association although it could still come to an agreement among members to act collectively noted that Ben Sulayem had made his remarks without any reference or dialogue with the drivers and that they had still had no response from the governing body since publishing the open letter “It’s unprecedented times we’ve been in the last 18 months with what’s been changing “We want to see these things put into action rather than saying: ‘We’re considering things.’ We all consider a lot of things We’re clear we want changes and once they are implemented The words don’t mean anything until the change has been made “It’ll be great if changes were made and the drivers were at least heard and I think it’s just in the best interest for the sport and ensuring that some common sense is applied to these situations.” Free weekly newsletterThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action It is considered among some in the paddock that Ben Sulayem’s statement was merely a tactic in attempting to align with drivers as he faces re-election for the presidency this year Verstappen did not attend the pre-race media day in Miami His Red Bull team explained he was with his partner who is expecting the birth of the couple’s first child The world champion will be attending on Friday when running begins with practice and then qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race A statement from the team read: “Max will not be attending media day in Miami as he is expecting a baby All is well and he will attend track tomorrow for the race weekend We will not be offering any further comment at this time in respect towards the privacy of Max and his family.”