F1 news: Lewis Hamilton heads to Miami GP hoping for a reset amid Ferrari growing pains

Formula 1 heads stateside for the sixth round of the 2025 season, the Miami Grand Prix.

Here, Sports News Blitz’s Noah Ngcobo looks at how Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton can bounce back after a difficult start to this new chapter in his career.

A circuit Hamilton would rather skip

As Formula 1 returns to the streets of Miami, Lewis Hamilton’s enthusiasm for the event is, at best, muted.

Despite the city’s reputation as a playground for the rich and famous - and a regular hangout for many of Hamilton’s celebrity friends - the Ferrari driver has made it clear that this race sits at the bottom of his personal rankings.

“It’s probably at the bottom of my list of preferred circuits,” he admitted. When asked about the event as a whole, his response was just as blunt: “same.”

The Miami Grand Prix has long been marketed as an American showpiece, but it has faced criticism from fans and drivers alike.

From chaotic hospitality hiccups in its first year to sky-high ticket prices, the race feels more like a luxury brand activation than a sporting event.

And with tickets still unsold just days before the race, it seems fans may be feeling the same disconnect Hamilton does.

A season of ups and downs

Hamilton’s 2025 campaign with Ferrari started with promise. A dominant Sprint victory in Shanghai suggested he might quickly find his feet in the red car.

But since then, the momentum has evaporated.

The full-length Grand Prix results have been underwhelming, with the Brit visibly uncomfortable in the SF-25 and struggling to match team-mate Charles Leclerc’s pace.

In Jeddah, Hamilton was out-qualified by over half a second and finished 31 seconds behind Leclerc in the race.

Post-race, the Brit described the experience as “horrible” and admitted he didn’t have answers.

“At the moment, there’s no fix,” he said. “So this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the year. It’s going to be painful.”

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Gap to Leclerc growing wider

The numbers tell a worrying story.

The qualifying deficit between Hamilton and Leclerc has been increasing each race weekend - Australia (0.16s), Japan (0.30s), Bahrain (0.59s), and Saudi Arabia (0.60s).

F1 analysts and insiders believe Hamilton’s difficulty stems from a lack of harmony with the car’s setup, particularly in managing the tyres and mid-corner balance.

Leclerc, on the other hand, seems to be finding more consistency.

The Monegasque has spoken about progress in dialling out understeer and managing the car’s tricky balance - elements that seem to be unlocking performance for him but not for Hamilton.

Ferrari’s bigger picture

Ferrari sit fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, having gained ground on Red Bull and Mercedes but still trailing far behind McLaren.

The team lost a critical 18 points in China due to a double disqualification, which would have flipped their deficit on Red Bull into a narrow lead.

But missed opportunities are piling up.

Team Principal Fred Vasseur remains optimistic. “The potential is there,” he insists. “We just have to do a better job all over again.”

He believes the issue lies in how the team and Hamilton are managing the car’s balance and tyre window.

“We are collectively struggling,” he admitted, “but the potential of the car is there.”

Searching for a spark in Miami

Despite his frustrations, the seven-time world champion still has time to turn things around.

Miami, with its Sprint format, offers extra competitive sessions and another shot at setup experimentation.

A strong showing this weekend could stabilise his campaign and reset the narrative heading into the intense European stretch of the season.

But that turnaround won’t come easily.

The car setup that’s extracting performance seems to cater more to Leclerc’s style, and unless Hamilton finds a breakthrough, he risks spending the season trailing his team-mate and questioning his decision to leave Mercedes.

As the lights prepare to go out in Miami, the stakes are clear. Hamilton doesn’t need to love the circuit but he desperately needs a result.

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