Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult 2025 F1 Miami GP, starting 12th on the grid. However, a mid-race Virtual Safety Car altered the complexion of his afternoon, as he closed in on teammate Charles Leclerc in the second half of the race.
Leclerc had earlier overtaken Williams driver Carlos Sainz for seventh place, and Ferrari’s strategy initially called for both drivers to hold position. Yet as Hamilton’s newer, softer medium tyres appeared to offer greater pace than Leclerc’s, he requested permission from his race engineer to move ahead.
Ferrari delayed the instruction, prompting Hamilton to voice his frustration over team radio. “This is not good teamwork,” he said, before adding sarcastically, “Have a tea break while you’re at it.”
Hamilton comments a product of frustration during the race
Following the F1 Miami GP race, Hamilton addressed his radio comments during an interview with Sky Sports F1. He explained:
“I lost a lot of time behind Charles, and in that moment for sure I was like, come on let’s make a concise decision really quick, let’s not waste time.”
“I’m sure people didn’t like certain comments but you’ve got to understand it was frustrating. People say way worse things than what I say. It was more sarcastic than anything and I’m not frustrated now. We’ll work internally, we’ll have discussions and we’ll keep pushing.”
He added: “Let’s not get emotional about it. We’re here to race, we’re not where we want to be.”
Eventually, Ferrari instructed Leclerc to allow Hamilton through. However, Leclerc remained within DRS range and soon retook the position, with Hamilton choosing not to defend.
SF-25 lacking performance but improvements possible
Throughout the race, Williams driver Carlos Sainz posed a persistent threat. Hamilton ultimately finished the 2025 F1 Miami GP eighth after a last-lap collision with the Spaniard. When asked about being beaten by a Williams, Hamilton offered praise while reflecting on Ferrari’s current challenges.
“Firstly, Williams are doing an amazing job,” he said, adding, “For us to be battling them and struggling to beat them [Williams] just shows that we have a lot of performance to find.”
“We’re lacking performance in the car but I think we know where we are losing it, particularly since, like, China for example. We’ve got some improvements to make to the car before we can unlock that performance, but we won’t give up, we’ll keep pushing.”
