Lewis Hamilton left the 2026 F1 Miami GP with points, but little satisfaction. A strong race looked possible after Ferrari found progress overnight, yet his afternoon changed almost immediately.
Max Verstappen’s Turn 1 spin forced Hamilton to avoid the incident and cost him momentum. Soon after, contact with Franco Colapinto at Turn 11 damaged his Ferrari and left him fighting with reduced downforce. Meanwhile, teammate Charles Leclerc lost sixth after a late penalty, which promoted Hamilton in the final classification.
Hamilton explains how Lap 1 shaped his 2026 F1 Miami GP race
Hamilton’s race turned before he could settle into a rhythm. Verstappen’s spin opened an opportunity, but it also forced Hamilton off line and dropped him into trouble.
“Yeah, I was really unlucky to get caught up with Max’s spin and obviously lost positions from there. And then, yeah, the damage from Franco, and then that lost me a ton of downforce, and I was in no man’s land after that.”
That sequence defined his afternoon. Instead of attacking with a clean car, Hamilton had to protect a damaged one and recover what he could.
Hamilton details Ferrari damage after Colapinto contact in Miami
The contact with Colapinto turned Hamilton’s race into a points-saving exercise. Although he continued, the lost downforce removed the performance he needed to fight properly.
“There’s not really much to say. I just lost about half a second of downforce on the car, and I was just driving around for nothing, really… well, you know, trying to get as many points as I could with the damage.”
As a result, Hamilton had to shift his target. Rather than chase the front group, he focused on bringing the Ferrari home and limiting the damage.
Hamilton sees progress despite compromised 2026 F1 Miami GP
However, Hamilton still saw positives. Ferrari had struggled earlier in the weekend, but the team made steps before qualifying and the race.
“Yeah, I think we progressed. Got into Qualifying, and the laps of the grid felt really strong. I was feeling like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to be strong in this race.’ And then obviously with the damage… and it’s the worst when it happens on Lap 1 as well, because there’s just nothing you can do, and it’s just you’re passengers, just waiting.”
That timing made the incident more frustrating. The damage arrived so early that Hamilton never had a real chance to show the car’s improved pace.
Hamilton believes Ferrari had more in the 2026 Miami GP
Hamilton felt Ferrari’s result did not reflect the work behind the scenes. Without the damage, he believed he could have joined the main fight.
“Yeah, I want to say I think, without the damage, I think we would have been right up in the fight. The car was feeling good, as I said, to the laps of the grid. So it’s a shame because it doesn’t really truly reflect the hard work that the team has done. We can’t forget. We move forward, and we try and see if we can extract more in the next race.”
Finally, Hamilton reflected on the car’s wider balance. He felt generally comfortable, but he admitted Ferrari started the weekend in the wrong window.
“Yeah, generally. Generally, I’m happy with it. I think, as I said, we just started on the wrong foot this weekend. So the car was very snappy on the way into corners, and then massive understeer on the way in mid-corner. So that was not the balance that you would want. It was better for Qualifying than going into the race, but I wasn’t able to really capitalise on it.”
In the end, Hamilton’s Miami race became a missed opportunity. Ferrari improved the car, but early damage denied him a clean read on its potential. Even so, he left with points, a clearer direction and the belief that more performance remains available.
