Lewis Hamilton reflected on his seventh-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix, with early damage sustained on the opening lap significantly affecting his race. The seven-time world champion endured a difficult weekend overall, finishing seventh in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, but the question remains: how much performance did that early contact actually cost him?
Ferrari did not experience an easy weekend, particularly with Hamilton. The British driver openly pointed to issues in the simulator as a factor behind his lack of strong form, suggesting that an incorrect initial direction compromised his confidence and performance. After adjustments to the setup, he appeared to regain some feeling with the car, but Hamilton was still never on the same level as his teammate Charles Leclerc throughout the weekend.
The contact with Franco Colapinto on the opening lap damaged a brakeboard on his SF-26, immediately compromising his race pace. Below are his comments and an explanation of how much the incident affected his performance.
Hamilton: “The rain wouldn’t have helped me anyway”
“Obviously it was not a good weekend at all. Seventh and seventh, basically nowhere in both races. Especially today with the damage, there was nothing I could do. Really unfortunate because the team worked so hard for so few points… we need to move forward from here.”
“The first lap was just a bit of contact. I was unlucky with Max who went sideways and I had to go to the right of him. I had a good Turn 1 and I was in a good position, and then the only place I could go was to the right. I lost positions from there and then I think it was Franco who hit me and I lost a lot of performance from that moment on. I think almost half a second per lap.”
“The rain wouldn’t have helped me anyway. I was still missing a big piece of the car, so…”
According to reports from the Italian media, the car suffered substantial damage, with the lateral floor fence alone costing around 20 points of aerodynamic downforce, in addition to balance and cooling issues. It was clearly not a suitable track for Hamilton, who still appears to need more time to fully adapt and rediscover his reference points within the Ferrari package.
The Maranello-based team will now return to base and continue working on improvements, but the Stevenage-born champion did not hide what he sees as the core issue holding Ferrari back: the power unit.
“Engine upgrade? Yes, that is exactly what we need a lot. Right now it is very difficult for us to fight against the power of the Red Bull and Mercedes power units, both of which have a significant advantage over ours. In other areas we have a very good car, maybe even the best one, so we need to solve this issue because if we manage to do it, we could really be in the fight for victories again. However, it will still take some time to close this gap and recover ground.”
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