Breaking: Tempers flare between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari in Miami GP radio t…..read more
Tempers flare between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari in Miami GP radio t…..read more
Tensions reached boiling point during the 2025 Miami Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton voiced his frustration with Ferrari’s race strategy and team orders, leading to a series of terse and sarcastic radio exchanges. What started as a hopeful weekend after a strong sprint performance quickly spiraled into frustration for Hamilton, who found himself embroiled in a battle with teammate Charles Leclerc—and his own race engineer.
Ferrari came into the Miami weekend looking to capitalize on their pace from previous rounds, and things initially looked promising. Hamilton secured a podium finish in the sprint race, finishing P3 after a well-timed switch to slick tyres. That move had been hailed as a “genius call” and seemed to set up the seven-time world champion for another strong showing on Sunday. However, the Grand Prix itself would turn out to be a far tougher challenge for the Scuderia.
In Sunday’s main race, Ferrari struggled to keep pace with their main rivals. McLaren, Red Bull, and even Mercedes appeared to have better race-day performance. Leclerc managed to finish in P7, while Hamilton ended up a spot behind in P8. However, those results don’t tell the full story of what unfolded on track—and over the team radio.
Hamilton’s frustrations first emerged early in the race, when his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, radioed in during a critical battle on track. The timing of the communication couldn’t have been worse from Hamilton’s perspective.
“Stop talking to me while I’m freaking [in] battle, man! Geesh! In the braking zone you’re talking to me!” Hamilton snapped, clearly annoyed at being distracted in such a high-pressure moment.
After his pit stop, Hamilton switched from hard to medium tyres and began closing in on Leclerc, who had remained on the harder compound. With fresher rubber, Hamilton was evidently faster and began pushing for a pass. The radio traffic between driver and engineer soon turned from tense to outright contentious.
“How far are people ahead of Charles? I’m just burning up my tyres behind him,” Hamilton inquired, hinting that he was being held up and losing valuable race time.
Adami responded, “Understood. Antonelli is 6 seconds ahead of Charles,” attempting to provide some strategic context.
But Hamilton was having none of it. “So you want me to just sit here [behind Leclerc] the whole race?” he questioned sharply.
The team’s decision came down a few moments later: maintain position behind Leclerc to help both cars benefit from the drag reduction system (DRS). “Want to keep DRS to Charles. Go ahead like this,” said Adami.
This directive appeared to be the final straw for Hamilton. “Argh… You guys are… This is not good teamwork. That’s all I’m gonna say!” he replied, audibly frustrated and biting back further criticism.
In a sarcastic flourish later in the race, Hamilton even suggested over the radio that the team should “have a tea break,” underscoring just how discontented he had become with Ferrari’s strategy and communication during the Grand Prix.
While Hamilton and Ferrari have only recently begun their partnership, this Miami Grand Prix served as a reminder of the growing pains that can come with high-stakes teamwork. The question now looms: are these just early season teething issues, or signs of deeper philosophical differences between driver and team?
Ferrari will no doubt be eager to regroup before the next race, as managing the dynamic between two highly competitive drivers remains one of the biggest challenges for any Formula 1 team—especially when tempers flare on the radio.
