Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he will change his approach with Ferrari following a difficult Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix 2026 weekend. The British driver was not in contention throughout sprint sessions and qualifying, before his race was further compromised by early contact.
A collision with Franco Colapinto on the opening lap caused significant damage to Hamilton’s car, directly impacting aerodynamic efficiency and overall race pace. As a result, he spent much of the race isolated, unable to engage in meaningful battles, ultimately finishing sixth.
From a technical perspective, aerodynamic damage disrupts car balance, particularly affecting downforce levels and drag efficiency. This influences high-speed stability, tyre degradation, and strategic flexibility. Despite this, Hamilton indicated Ferrari had the underlying pace to compete near the front without the damage.
“I’m going to have a different approach for the next race. The way we are preparing at the moment is not helping.”
“Without the damage, I think we would have been in the fight. The car felt good on the laps to the grid.”
Looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton highlighted Ferrari’s weakness in straight-line speed. The Montreal circuit, with its long straights, is expected to expose this limitation further, particularly against rivals such as Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, which demonstrate superior power unit efficiency and lower drag profiles.
“We’re going to a track with long straights, and we are losing three to four tenths just on straight-line speed.”
“That’s going to remain until we fix it. Miami was a weekend to forget, and now we move forward.”
In the broader championship context, Ferrari’s Miami result underlines ongoing challenges in maintaining consistent performance across varying circuit characteristics. Hamilton’s planned approach change suggests internal evaluation of preparation methods, including setup direction, strategy execution, and weekend workflow, as the team seeks to improve competitiveness in the upcoming rounds.
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