The Italian team boss analyzed Hamilton's sixth place and Leclerc's eighth place in Miami, damage to the Briton's front wing on the first lap and a final spin by the Monegasque weighed down the weekend. Tire management, identified as a key area to improve.
Ferrari signed its worst performance of the 2026 season in Miami, Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and Charles Leclerc eighth, results that leave the Scuderia without a presence on the podium for the first time in the championship. Frédéric Vasseur, the team boss, did not hide his disappointment and described the day as "a megahard Sunday."
The French executive's analysis was clear: "I think the weekend went quite well until the race, on the first lap, Lewis lost part of the front wing and that was almost the end of his race, Charles was fighting for third place, but then came the spin. We have to see the positive side, he could have parked the car at turn 4, but he didn't," he explained in statements to F1 TV.
Leclerc had arrived in Miami with good feelings. The Monegasque got on the podium in the sprint race and started the Grand Prix from third position, even leading the race after the first corners, however, his performance faded as the laps went by, poor tire management, a recurring problem in the SF-26, took him away from the fight for the lead even before his accident plagued finish.
The high temperature of the asphalt played a trick on the Scuderia: "It was the story from the beginning of the weekend: tire management and their temperature. When you are in a good position, the pace is there. That was true for us, but also for everyone else. There is a big swing in performance and it's quite easy to overheat the tires and go over the other side," Vasseur acknowledged.
The first stint on the medium compound was encouraging, Leclerc stayed in the fight for the lead alongside Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris but the appearance of the safety car, which bunched up the entire grid, changed the picture: "In the first part, in clean air, we had good pace. Then the safety car came out and everyone bunched up, from there, it was much more difficult," Vasseur detailed.
The Monegasque suffered especially on the hard tire, lost ground to the leaders and, on the last lap, a spin after hitting the curb dropped him to eighth place. A 20 second penalty for cutting corners in that same action confirmed his worst result of the season. Hamilton, for his part, could barely recover after the initial incident, the front wing damage completely conditioned his race.
Vasseur wanted to take the positive side, Leclerc did not give up after the spin and managed to bring the car to the finish line: "It's tough, but he pushed to the end," he valued. The Ferrari boss admitted that tire management is a key area to improve ahead of the next races, Canada will be the next test.