An excellent and encouraging start to the Miami Grand Prix weekend for Ferrari, especially considering the broader context of the 2026 Formula 1 season and the importance of extracting performance early in a Sprint weekend format, where every session becomes even more decisive. The direction taken by the Ferrari team, both in terms of setup choices and the introduction of a substantial upgrade package on the SF-26, appears to be working in the right direction.
In the free practice session, the red car showed itself to be a solid and competitive machine, displaying encouraging signs both on race simulation pace and over a single flying lap. The overall balance looked more stable compared to previous weekends, and the drivers were able to extract consistent performance across different fuel loads. However, despite these positive indications, real confirmation was still needed in qualifying conditions, particularly in a Sprint Qualifying format where there is significantly less margin for error and fewer opportunities to recover. And unfortunately things didn’t go as planned.
This was especially important given that the SF-26 has repeatedly struggled during the first three race weekends of the season when it comes to extracting maximum performance in qualifying trim, particularly in the critical final segment of qualifying sessions.
GP Miami, SQ1: Ferrari studies the SF-26
So let’s take a detailed look at how events unfolded for Charles and Lewis in the Miami sprint qualifying session. There is no time to waste at the Miami International Autodrome: as soon as the session begins, both Ferrari SF-26 cars immediately head out onto the track. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are both out early, reflecting a clear intention to gather data quickly and build confidence from the opening laps. Both cars start their runs on Medium tyres, a compound that had not been used during the only free practice session, which itself was extended to one hour and thirty minutes.
The Ferrari drivers focus heavily on preparing the front axle, carefully building temperature into the tyres to ensure optimal grip before committing to their first proper flying attempt. This warm-up phase is particularly important at a circuit like Miami, where traction zones and slow-speed direction changes place a heavy demand on front-end stability. At the same time, there is a noticeable headwind in several sections of the first sector, which slightly affects stability and braking confidence.
Charles Leclerc immediately sets a strong benchmark lap and moves to the top of the timing sheet early in the session, showing once again his ability to extract performance quickly from the car. His teammate, however, is around three tenths of a second slower on the initial push lap, indicating that he is still working to fully unlock the tyre performance window.
A double cool-down lap phase follows, during which both drivers receive a series of radio instructions from the Ferrari pit wall. These messages focus primarily on fine-tuning handling characteristics, suggesting small adjustments in driving style and energy management through the corners. At this stage, the SF-26 appears to have a reasonably good rotation phase in medium-speed corners, a positive sign compared to earlier races.
Ferrari could potentially have returned both cars to the pits at this stage, but instead the Maranello team opts for a more conservative approach and decides to complete an additional run for safety and data collection purposes. If the lap does not need to be completed, the drivers are expected to be informed directly by the pit wall.
Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton improve their lap times on the next attempt, but despite this progress, it is Lando Norris in the McLaren who ultimately goes fastest, beating the Monegasque by just 11 thousandths of a second. This extremely small margin highlights how tight the field is in Miami Sprint Qualifying conditions.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are both called back into the pits, having safely passed the cut-off for SQ1 without major difficulty. However, Ferrari still identifies room for improvement, particularly in the first sector, where the Monegasque loses approximately two and a half tenths compared to the McLaren MCL40 of of Lando Norris, indicating that initial corner preparation and tyre readiness remain key areas of focus.
GP Miami, SQ2: Ferrari start to believe with Charles Leclerc
The intensity of the session begins to increase significantly as SQ2 gets underway. At this stage, teams are forced to reveal more of their true performance levels in order to understand their real competitiveness against direct rivals. Ferrari once again sends both cars out immediately as the pit lane light turns green, underlining their intent to stay proactive and avoid traffic issues.
Both SF-26 cars are running on Pirelli yellow-banded Medium tyres. As in SQ1, the main focus is on bringing the front axle up to the optimal operating temperature, as this area of the car tends to cool rapidly on the straights, especially in a circuit layout like Miami with its long acceleration zones.
Wind conditions remain largely unchanged, providing a relatively stable but still challenging environment. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both begin their flying laps with the goal of improving consistency and extracting the maximum from the tyre performance window. At this point, it is clear that the overall balance of the Ferrari cars is relatively neutral, which allows the 28-year-old to position the car with precision through corner entry phases, especially in medium-speed sections.
For Lewis Hamilton, however, the situation is slightly more complicated. The seven-time world champion appears to struggle more in slower corners, where he needs to apply additional steering input to keep the car stable. This behaviour seems to be linked primarily to tyre temperature management, suggesting that he is not fully within the optimal grip window at that moment.
After completing the usual two cool-down laps, both drivers prepare for a second flying attempt. On this run, Charles Leclerc suffers a moment of oversteer at the final corner, which compromises his exit traction and costs him valuable time on the main straight. Despite this small issue, his lap remains strong enough to keep him in first position at that stage of the session.
Lewis Hamilton also improves his lap time on the second attempt, showing incremental progress, but he remains approximately half a second behind his Maranello teammate. This gap clearly illustrates both the strong form of Charles Leclerc in this qualifying segment and the slightly imperfect confidence level that Lewis Hamilton is experiencing in this specific Sprint Qualifying session.
The second part of qualifying concludes with car number 16 appearing genuinely competitive and potentially capable of fighting near the very front positions until the end of the session. It is also worth noting that Mercedes has not yet shown significant outright pace, while McLaren continues to demonstrate strong underlying potential that could become more evident in SQ3.
GP Miami, SQ3: tyres betray Ferrari
The decisive moment of Sprint Qualifying in Miami is about to begin. Concentration across the Ferrari garage reaches its absolute peak, as in this final segment every detail becomes crucial in determining the final grid positions. At this stage, mistakes are simply not an option, especially with such close margins separating the top teams.
For SQ3, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton switch to Soft tyres, the fastest compound available for a single-lap performance. One of the most important technical priorities is to bring the tyres into the correct temperature window as efficiently as possible, ensuring maximum grip from the very first corner of the flying lap.
The out lap appears slightly less aggressive compared to earlier segments, suggesting a more cautious approach to tyre preparation. At the final corner, both drivers activate push mode and begin their timed laps. However, unfortunately for Ferrari, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are forced into a number of small corrections during their laps, preventing them from achieving a perfectly clean run.
The Briton is particularly self-critical after his lap, highlighting a small mistake in the final corner that compromised his overall time. Charles Leclerc does not communicate major issues over the radio, but internally he is aware that there was still additional performance available that he was unable to fully extract.
At the end of Sprint Qualifying, the Monegasque finishes in fourth position, while his teammate has to settle for seventh place on the grid. Lewis Hamilton’s small but costly error plays a significant role in his final classification, demonstrating once again how fine the margins are in modern Formula 1 qualifying.
Once again, Ferrari pays the price for not fully optimising tyre performance at the most critical moment of the session. The SF-26 shows competitive potential, but the inability to perfectly switch on the Soft tyres in SQ3 proves decisive. It appears that, once again, tyre preparation and execution in the final run have limited Ferrari’s overall result.
Looking ahead to the Sprint race, the start will be crucial, and Ferrari will need to convert race pace potential into positions on track if they want to recover ground and capitalise on their generally solid weekend performance so far.
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