Lewis Hamilton vs Ferrari: A Tense Battle at the Miami Grand Prix

The Miami Grand Prix was a battleground for team dynamics as Lewis Hamilton found himself stuck behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Starting 12th, Hamilton skillfully maneuvered through the field and got within striking distance of Leclerc, who had stopped for medium tyres.

The Radio Battle: Hamilton vs Ferrari’s Pitwall

The first signs of tension over team radio came when Hamilton complained about burning his tyres while trailing Leclerc. Despite this, the Ferrari pitwall insisted he stay put behind his teammate. “We want to keep the DRS for Charles,” reported Hamilton’s race engineer Riccardo Adami, hinting at a strategy that had caused friction earlier in the season.

Undeterred, Hamilton pressed on, questioning the team’s decision-making. “You want me to sit here for the whole race? This is not good teamwork, that’s all I’m gonna say,” he retorted. Eventually, Leclerc allowed Hamilton through for seventh, but not before the seven-time world champion voiced his displeasure once more.

In a jab at their earlier encounter in China, Hamilton said, “In China, I got out of the way.” After being informed that the cars would swap positions later in the race, he added, “Have a tea break while you’re at it.” This left Leclerc complaining about racing in dirty air, all while the team grappled with lower points positions as their rivals proved quicker.

However, with Hamilton unable to catch up to the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in sixth, Ferrari made the call to revert the positions later in the race. The Briton remained visibly unhappy when told that Carlos Sainz was now 1.7 seconds behind in the Williams, retorting, “Do you want me to let him past as well?”

Hamilton finished third in Saturday’s sprint race, but the Ferrari pair found themselves battling with Williams for much of the grand prix itself.