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Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari needs to make improvements to its car after dropping out in Q2 at the Miami Grand Prix despite a top three finish in the Sprint.
Both Ferrari drivers qualified in the top seven for the Sprint but Charles Leclerc crashed on the way to the grid in wet conditions, while Hamilton was struggling before a well-timed early pit stop for slick tires helped him salvage an impressive third place. Qualifying in the dry on Saturday afternoon was a different story, with Hamilton eliminated in 12th and Leclerc only eighth, and the seven-time world champion says the Ferrari is just not competitive enough in Miami.
“It was a difficult session, obviously mixed emotions,” Hamilton said. “A good, decent result, but it wasn’t pure pace, it was a good call in the strategy, but on pure pace we didn’t have it in the race. I was one of the first here this morning to make sure we took the right steps through the day, and it didn’t make any difference.
“Just think it’s nice [to score the Sprint result] but pure pace … I mean we were out-qualified by the Williams. James [Vowles] and his team are doing an amazing job, but pure pace, that’s where we are.
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“Charles was fortunate to get through [to Q3] with … I think he had a new tire, so that just got him through. I had an extra new tire, so we should have used that.
“The Sprint race was better [than] qualifying. But we are where we are. We need some upgrades, we need some improvements. We’ve got lots of things that need to be better.”
Teammate Leclerc was also keen to stress there was no more performance in the car after his qualifying result, but Hamilton says that doesn’t make him feel better given how far off the frontrunners both are.
“I don’t feel it in my heart,” he said. “I’m trying everything, we’re trying everything. The smallest bit of time today meant I was out. If we’d gone out with a new tire I probably would have been in Q3. And then it would just be … maybe I’ll be eighth or ninth with Charles.
“So it doesn’t make a huge difference. But the fact is we are trying and we don’t have the pace by far at the moment.”
With more rain forecast for Sunday that could open up opportunities, Hamilton says such conditions aren’t necessarily a strength for Ferrari either.
“The car was not good in the wet this morning,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be tomorrow, either. We’ll see. I’ll do a lot of praying tonight, of course. There’s opportunity for sure. If it started dry and then went wet or something like that, it could be kind of neat, but you’ve got to be lucky as well.”
