Hamilton laments cruel luck after damage ends race hopes early

The Scuderia Ferrari driver, who had qualified sixth for the Florida race, was forced into a largely management-based afternoon after sustaining damage in an opening-lap collision that severely compromised his race. After narrowly avoiding Max Verstappen’s early spin at Turn 1, the seven-time world champion then became caught up in contact with the Alpine of Franco Colapinto, which effectively ruined his chances of a competitive result.

Reflecting on the incident, Hamilton admitted he was unlucky, drawing parallels with a similarly difficult Sprint race, while also acknowledging the efforts of the Ferrari team that went unrewarded.

“Obviously it’s not a good weekend at all. Seventh and seventh; no-man’s land in both races. Particularly today with the damage, there was nothing I could do. Really unfortunate because the team worked so hard, so to come away with so few points… we have to move on from here. It was just a contact. I was unlucky with Max spinning and I had to go to the right of him. I had a good Turn One and I was in a good position and then the only place I could go was right. I lost positions from there and then I think it was Franco that hit me and I lost a lot of performance from there,” he said via Sky Sports F1.

The Miami Grand Prix proved to be a forgettable race for the Ferrari outfit, as while Hamilton was forced into nursing a problem, teammate Charles Leclerc was involved in a spin on the final lap which ruled him out of podium contention.

Further compounding the woes of the Ferrari team is the multiple steward summons for Leclerc. The Monegasque is currently under investigation for three separate incidents.

Leclerc, who took the chequered flag in sixth place, is being investigated for leaving the track multiple times on the last lap and gaining an advantage, driving his car in an “unsafe condition” on the last lap, and a collision when they made minor contact on the last lap.

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