Ferrari entered the Miami Grand Prix with significant optimism, having brought a major upgrade package to their car after a five-week break in the Formula 1 calendar. However, the Italian team's performance left much to be desired, sparking serious questions about their ability to challenge for the 2026 world championships.
The weekend's results were underwhelming for the Scuderia. Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in sixth place, while his teammate Charles Leclerc could only manage eighth. This outcome was particularly disappointing given the high expectations surrounding the new parts, especially as rivals McLaren and Mercedes appeared to make stronger progress with their own developments.
Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, Sky Sports F1 analyst Karun Chandhok expressed clear concern about Ferrari's trajectory. He suggested that if this was the team's primary upgrade for this phase of the season, their main competitors would not be overly worried. Chandhok believes Ferrari may have slipped behind in the development race, a worrying sign for a team with championship ambitions.
There were mitigating factors in the race result. Leclerc was running in a strong fourth position before a late spin and contact with the barrier on the penultimate lap cost him valuable positions. Hamilton, meanwhile, was compromised for almost the entire race after sustaining damage from an early collision with Alpine's Franco Colapinto. Despite these incidents, the overall pace of the car was not where the team needed it to be.
A key technical talking point has emerged around Ferrari's power unit. The team's turbo is understood to be smaller than those of rivals Mercedes and Red Bull. This design appears to give them a significant advantage off the starting line, with Leclerc once again making a superb getaway to lead the race in Miami. However, this benefit may not last throughout a full race distance.
David Croft, another Sky Sports F1 commentator, questioned whether this smaller turbo, while excellent for launches, becomes a disadvantage as fuel loads decrease and rivals with larger turbos can extract more performance. Hamilton has previously noted a lack of power compared to competitors, which makes sustained racing more challenging.
The pressure is now on Ferrari's engineers at Maranello. With McLaren expected to bring another set of upgrades to the next race in Canada and Mercedes set to introduce their own major package, Ferrari must decide if they can unlock more performance from their current Miami update or if they need to fast-track further developments. Both Chandhok and Croft hope another upgrade is in the pipeline, warning that without it, Ferrari could find themselves in serious trouble for the remainder of the season.
Based on reporting from SkySports | News.