Lewis Hamilton expressed disappointment over Ferrari's Miami upgrades, stating he has no explanation for their performance. Despite initial expectations, Ferrari struggled during the Sprint Qualifying, finishing behind several competitors.
Mentioned in this story
A five-week break, a freight container of new upgrades flown to Florida, and a Ferrari that briefly looked like the fastest car on track in opening practice. By the time the Sprint Qualifying chequered flag dropped at the Miami International Autodrome on Friday evening, Lewis Hamilton was seventh on the grid for Saturdayās Sprint and visibly out of explanations.
Ferrari had every reason to expect more.
Charles Leclerc had been four-tenths up on Hamilton in the early SQ2 runs with Mercedes almost half a second off the pace, and the expectations on its upgrades ā by most paddock accounts the largest Maranello has brought all year ā was that Ferrari and McLaren had finally clawed their way back to the Silver Arrows. Then SQ3 happenedā¦
Lando Norris took pole on a 1m27.869s, with Kimi Antonelli second, Piastri third, Leclerc fourth, Verstappen fifth, Russell sixth, and Hamilton seventh on a 1m28.618s .
Hamilton had been quicker than both Mercedes drivers in SQ1 and SQ2 before a big moment at Turn 17 wrecked a promising final run. That part is fixable. The part that isnāt, and the part Hamilton kept circling back to in front of the Sky cameras, is why the car felt the way it did once everyone else found another tenth and Ferrari didnāt.
Lewis Hamilton admitted that Ferrari's upgrades were a letdown and stated he has no idea why they underperformed.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, while Hamilton finished seventh, indicating that the team did not meet expectations with their recent upgrades.
Lando Norris secured pole position with a time of 1m27.869s during the Miami Sprint Qualifying.
Stewart Cink shot a second consecutive 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at the Regions Tradition, aiming for his second straight senior major title. He previously won the Senior PGA Championship two weeks ago.
Miguel Rojas overcame personal struggles with support from KikƩ Hernandez, culminating in a pivotal ninth-inning home run in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Rojas had previously doubted his future with the Dodgers after teammates were designated for assignment.
Emotional farewell: Brad Galli signs off from WXYZ Channel 7 after 15 years.
Coco Gauff and Caty McNally, the 'McCoco' duo, reunite for doubles at the Italian Open!
Iranian officials to meet FIFA in Zurich for World Cup talks ahead of deadline
Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are set to enter the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame!
See every story in Sports ā including breaking news and analysis.
Asked whether Maranello had expected more from its upgrade haul, Hamilton answered:
I justā¦ we didnāt really know what to expect. I had hoped that we would be better. But yeah, itā¦ the car didnāt feel particularly great.ā
He continued: āI have no idea. I thought we would be stronger than we were today. Going to have to do some work overnight to try and figure out why weāre not that quick. And yeah. I was hopeful coming in, positive, that we could be much higher, but not meant to be.ā
Really, the day wasnāt all bad for the Scuderia.
The McLaren and Ferrari upgrade packages do appear to have dragged both teams back into a fight with the previously dominant Mercedes, even if Ferrariās SQ3 was, charitably, untidy. Leclerc in fourth, half a second off pole, is a more honest reflection of how fast the car is compared to Hamiltonās seventh.
The harder question for Ferrari is the one Hamilton effectively asked on camera: where did the time go between SQ2, where the car was leading, and SQ3, where it wasnāt?
The Sprint on Saturday will give Ferrari 19 laps of race-pace data before traditional qualifying that afternoon.