F1 Miami Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton delighted with Ferrari improvement

Lewis Hamilton looking happy edited on a backdrop of a neon blue Miami palm tree — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton delighted with Ferrari improvement in Miami

Lewis Hamilton found much better performance in his Ferrari in qualifying

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 3 May 2026 00:04 Updated: 00:49

Lewis Hamilton came out of qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix in a positive mood having bounced back from a poor sprint race.

Hamilton could only finish seventh in the sprint having lost out in a tussle with Max Verstappen on his way to finishing a concerning 21 seconds down the road on eventual race winner Lando Norris.

The seven-time world champion's performance was put into further spotlight when his team-mate Charles Leclerc took third place having applied late pressure to McLaren's Oscar Piastri for second.

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However, Hamilton found some improved performance to run on more equal terms with Leclerc in qualifying at the Hard Rock Stadium, and although he only finished sixth after Q3 with Leclerc in P3, he was only a couple of tenths off the pace.

Hamilton revealed after qualifying that changes to the setup between Saturday's session made his Ferrari much more driveable.

Lewis Hamilton praises Ferrari improvement

"Much better in qualifying, so I don't think we had any power issues," Hamilton told Sky Sports.

"That was the best that it's been this weekend. And we changed the car, and I was much, much happier with it. I wish I started the weekend with that balance. Q2 was looking really solid, and then when I got to Q3 I just struggled to extract the most from it.

"I think the rest of the team did a great job to bring an upgrade. They've worked so hard, so incredibly, incredibly grateful for that. I think clearly we need to. The other teams are doing different things with their car in terms of development, and so we need to look into that.

"But I know that we're pushing hard. I know there's more to come, and I really hope that, as I said, I think there's more to extract from what we currently have. We're still losing a bit on the straights, but I think we improved a lot in this session, and before this weekend, we knew that we were like four to five tenths down and straight. So I don't know if that's the same here this weekend, but yeah, I feel like we took a step forward. It doesn't show in my result, but I'm optimistic for tomorrow."

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