Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari needs to improve their car after dropping out in the second quarter at the Miami Grand Prix despite a top three finish in the sprint.
Both Ferrari drivers made their way to the top seven of the sprint, but Charles Leclerc crashed on his way to the grid in wet condition, but Hamilton struggled before an early pit stop in the timing of the slick tires helped him save an impressive third place. Qualifying on Saturday afternoon’s Dry is another story, with Hamilton being eliminated in 12th place, Leclair being the eighth time, and the seven-time world champion saying Ferrari isn’t competitive enough in Miami.
“It was a difficult session and obviously mixed emotions,” Hamilton said. “It’s a good result, but it was a good call for strategy, not pure pace, but at pure pace I didn’t have it in the race. I made sure I took the right steps all day here this morning.
“I think it’s good (to get a sprint result), but pure pace… It means Williams James (Vols) and his team are doing a great job, but pure pace, that’s where we are.
“Charles was lucky enough to get through (in Q3)… he had new tires so he went through him. I had extra new tires.
“The sprint race was better than (more) qualifying. But it’s where we are. We need an upgrade. We need improvement. There’s a lot of things that need to be better.”
Teammate Leclerc wanted to highlight that the car’s performance was gone after the results of qualifying, but Hamilton says it doesn’t feel good considering how far apart the front runners are.
“I don’t feel that in my heart,” he said. “I’m trying everything, we’re trying everything. The smallest time of today meant I was out. If we went out with new tires, we would probably have been in the third quarter.
“So that doesn’t make a big difference, but it’s actually something we’re trying to do and at this point there’s far less pace.”
Hamilton says that such conditions aren’t necessarily strong for Ferrari, as forecasts for rain on Sunday could open up opportunities.
“The car wasn’t wet this morning,” he said. “I don’t know if it will happen tomorrow either. I’ll see. Of course I’ll give you lots of prayers tonight. Of course there’s certainly an opportunity. If it’s starting to dry out and wet, it might be a bit neat, but you have to be lucky too.”
