Lewis Hamilton expresses his criticism of Ferrari’s simulator after a difficult Saturday in Miami. The Brit lost the sprint battle for sixth place to Max Verstappen before taking a step forward in qualifying and qualifying sixth for the main event on Sunday. According to Hamilton, his earlier simulator work derailed the first part of his American race weekend: ‘That really put me on the wrong track’.
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Lewis Hamilton had to settle for sixth place on the grid for the Miami GP. The somewhat disappointing qualifying for the Brit came after he lost the fight for sixth place to Max Verstappen in the sprint race earlier that day. According to the Ferrari driver, there was a slight upward trend between the sprint and qualifying.
“It was an improvement,” he says after qualifying. “We made a lot of adjustments to the car and had no software problems. So I think we made progress, that we took a step forward. I felt it was very solid in Q2, but when I got to Q3, I just couldn’t get the most out of the car.” The seven-time world champion admits he is not happy with his sixth place on the grid.
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Simulator
According to Hamilton, the wrong setup on his SF-26 has so far derailed his race weekend. “If I had already had the setup I (had on Saturday, ed.) on Friday, and could have practiced a bit more with it, it would have been different.” The world champion then expresses his criticism of Ferrari’s simulator. “To be honest, I think the simulator really puts me on the wrong track. So I think I’ll just stop (with simulator work, ed.) now.”
Still, the Ferrari driver is looking forward to the race on Sunday. “I suspect the car will feel even better then,” he explains. “But it will be a rain race. However, I am sure that if I then drive with the same balance as today (during qualifying, ed.), even if it is in wet conditions, hopefully we can achieve a good result.”
Read everything about the Miami GP here
