Lewis Hamilton’s harsh team radio outburst in Miami sparks fresh tensions inside Ferrari, raising questions about his leadership and team harmony.
Hamilton is under fire for his attitude during and after the Miami Grand Prix, with former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher calling his conduct disappointing and out of place.
Still adjusting to life at Ferrari after a long career at Mercedes, Hamilton didn’t hold back on team radio in Miami. He sarcastically accused the pit wall of taking a “tea break” when deciding whether to let him pass teammate Charles Leclerc. He also lashed out at his race engineer Riccardo Adami for speaking to him while he was braking.
Things escalated when Hamilton was told to give the position back to Leclerc and then informed that Carlos Sainz was the next car behind. “Should I let him through too?” he replied, dripping with sarcasm.
Ralf Schumacher wasn’t impressed.
“Come on, Hamilton, that was too much,” said the former F1 driver and brother of Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher.
“Overtaking Leclerc made sense at the time, he was quicker. But not giving the position back without a fight, and then reacting like that? No.”
Schumacher believes Hamilton should’ve shown more maturity.
“At his age and with all his experience, he should’ve handled it differently. A simple apology would’ve gone a long way. Acting smart would’ve suited him better.”
The clash comes just months after Hamilton’s move to Ferrari sparked major headlines and excitement across the F1 world. But according to Schumacher, the honeymoon phase is over, and the internal reality is setting in.
“People inside Ferrari are starting to see the real Hamilton. And behavior like this puts a serious strain on relationships,” he said.
“He needs to be aware of that. His harsh words and demands over the radio don’t match his current results, no matter how many world titles he’s won.”
Despite being closer to Leclerc’s pace in Miami, Schumacher believes Hamilton needs a calmer, more constructive approach right now.
Leclerc, for his part, also voiced frustration, both with the team’s performance and the Miami incidents, but kept his language measured, both on the radio and with the media.
“Leclerc was frustrated too,” said Schumacher. “And with Ferrari bringing updates to Imola, there’s big pressure now. The car needs to improve, and fast.”
“Team boss Fred Vasseur is already feeling the heat.”
Ferrari’s Fresh Tyre Failures Cost Big Points in Miami
Fred Vasseur says Ferrari missed out on key points in Miami after failing to extract pace from fresh tyres during qualifying.
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has acknowledged that the Scuderia is failing to extract the full potential from fresh tyres, a key issue that limited their performance at the Miami Grand Prix.
Reflecting on the weekend, Vasseur said Ferrari could have scored more points if they had executed a stronger qualifying session. He admitted the team ultimately achieved the best race result possible based on their starting grid positions, but left valuable ground on the table.
“In terms of race day, yes, I think we did the best we could,” said Vasseur. “But we lost a real opportunity in qualifying. Our fastest laps came on used tyres, not fresh ones. We simply couldn’t get the performance out of the new rubber.”
He explained that both drivers initially placed well, around fourth and fifth, but lost those spots when rivals switched to fresh tyres. That’s where Ferrari’s struggle became clear.
“This is exactly where we need to improve. We have to find a way to maximise the benefit of new tyres and take a step forward,” he continued. “In the race, once you’re stuck in traffic, things get more complicated. But in terms of raw pace, we were probably close to Red Bull and Mercedes.”
Vasseur admitted McLaren was operating on another level entirely. Ferrari never expected to challenge them in Miami but felt capable of battling with Max Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers if they had qualified better.
The tyre issue remains a mystery, even to Vasseur himself.
“If I had the answer, we would’ve solved it between Q2 and Q3,” he said. “Tyres need to be used within a very narrow window. And that changes from track to track, compound to compound, and depending on track conditions. It’s easy to say afterward, ‘we should’ve done things differently.’”
While recent events showed some improvement, Vasseur said Miami was their worst qualifying session of the season.
“Everyone else gained five or six tenths when switching to fresh tyres. We lost two or three. That’s unacceptable if we want to fight at the front.”
He also pointed out that Ferrari’s issues in Miami were partly due to a lack of mechanical grip, especially compared to tracks like Jeddah where the team was more competitive.
“In the race, it was clear we didn’t have the grip. But that wasn’t the case in Jeddah. There, Charles was stronger from lap ten onwards, even finishing third. Sometimes we can fight with the top teams, but that’s not enough.”
“We need to fight across a full race, not just parts of it. Today, we were too far behind. Miami’s layout punished our car’s rear-end limitations, and that plays more into McLaren’s strengths.”
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