Lewis Hamilton, in the post-race aftermath of the Miami Grand Prix, explained his team radio messages and refused to apologize to the team.
The radio “duel” between Leclerc and Hamilton, over a seventh-place finish, almost overshadowed Ferrari’s dismal performance in the Miami race. It was the worst overall performance of the season so far for the Maranello-based team, with the SF-25 finishing 57 seconds behind McLaren over the same number of laps — far too much of a gap to aspire to anything significant.
The radio disagreement and subsequent team orders between Leclerc and Hamilton appeared cumbersome and a sign of nervousness, stemming from a car that struggles to be competitive — a situation that will come to a head in the next three Grands Prix. Lewis himself tried to downplay the on-track events in his immediate post-race comments: “I said, ‘Come on, guys, I just want to win.’ I still have that fire inside. I feel like some of that fire is coming back. I’m not going to apologize for being a fighter. I won’t apologize for still wanting it. And I know every member of the team wants it too.”
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur also weighed in on the matter, commenting on what happened with the seven-time world champion: “In that situation, he needs to understand what I was feeling on the pit wall. He can trust me, I can trust him, and the same goes for Charles. When I have to make a decision, I make it for Ferrari, based on what I see live. It’s not like you have 30 minutes to look at the data and so on. You have to decide who is faster on track, whether it’s because of DRS or not. Maybe I’m a bit slow, but it only took me a lap or a lap and a half to make a decision.”
The Miami Grand Prix risks leaving lasting consequences in a season that is cracking race after race. Hamilton, however, is not giving up and is already thinking ahead to the next race: “I truly believe that once we solve some of the problems we have with the car, we’ll be back to fighting with the Mercedes and the Bulls. We’re going to try something different in the next race. We’ll keep working on our processes. I can’t wait to be back fighting for a podium. That would be great.”
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Gallery
