Lewis Hamilton is prepared to reduce his involvement with the Ferrari simulator after believing the virtual setup direction chosen before the 2026 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix placed him immediately on the back foot. The seven-time world champion admitted correlation between the Maranello simulator and the SF-26’s real track behaviour remains inconsistent.
Hamilton endured a difficult weekend in Miami after qualifying seventh for the Sprint and finishing in the same position. In the Grand Prix itself, the British driver converted sixth on the grid into seventh on the road before moving up to sixth following a penalty for team-mate Charles Leclerc. The result continued Hamilton’s adaptation phase with Ferrari during the early stages of the 2026 campaign.
According to Hamilton, the primary issue emerged from the opening practice session, where the baseline setup direction failed to suit the demands of the Miami International Autodrome. He suggested Leclerc’s initial configuration offered a stronger balance platform, particularly in managing corner entry instability and mid-corner understeer.
“Ultimately, it is always correlation, and when we go on it, and then you get to the track, the car feels different,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.
Hamilton explained he had been heavily involved in simulator work ahead of Miami, despite rarely relying on simulators throughout his Formula 1 career. However, the outcome highlighted that Ferrari’s virtual data still struggles to fully replicate real-world track conditions. The issue became more significant under the Sprint weekend format, which allowed only one practice session before parc fermé restrictions were enforced.
“In the Sprint weekend, you've only got practice one, you don't really want to veer off from your set-up too far, like with a big suspension change,” Hamilton explained.
From a technical perspective, Hamilton described the Ferrari as overly nervous on corner entry while simultaneously suffering major mid-corner understeer. That balance profile limited tyre management and race consistency over longer stints. Although the setup remained relatively competitive over a single qualifying lap, Ferrari struggled to maintain sustained race pace compared to rivals such as McLaren F1 Team and Red Bull Racing.
“In an ideal world, I should have started where Charles was at the beginning of the weekend in FP1, and I think we would have had a stronger weekend from there,” Hamilton added.
The 41-year-old is now considering stepping away from Ferrari’s simulator programme ahead of the next round. Hamilton even referenced his strong China weekend earlier this season, where he achieved one of his best performances without extensive simulator preparation. Ferrari is expected to reassess its simulator-to-track correlation process as the team prepares for the upcoming European phase of the championship.
“So I am not going to go on the simulator between now and the next race. I’ll still go and hold meetings in the factory and back away from it a little bit,” Hamilton concluded.
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