Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

[Fortitude]

‘Next time, speak with me’: Star’s Miami meltdown laid bare as ugly Ferrari vision emerges.
“In the space of four corners, I put a very strong race in the bin -- so I am very frustrated about that.” Charles Leclerc.
4 May 2026
AFP
Fox Sports (Australia)

Charles Leclerc admitted he threw away a podium finish for Ferrari with a wild penultimate lap as he dropped from third to finish eighth in Monday’s Miami Grand Prix. “I was third and I pushed very hard in the second-to-last lap. I thought it was a good idea to kind of let Oscar (Piastri) go for me to get the overtake (of him),” said Leclerc. “I knew it was going to be very difficult to stay in front of him otherwise, and it was a very poor decision.”

“In the space of four corners, I put a very strong race in the bin -- so I am very frustrated about that. I did my best to try and make the corners first of all... But it was probably a lot more difficult for me than it looked to be from the outside,” Leclerc said before the ruling. Speaking of the damage to his car, he said: “The damage was significant. To tell you exactly what was the damage, I’m not so sure.”

“I’m pretty sure there was a puncture, there was probably some suspension damage as well, as I couldn’t really turn to the right anymore. So yeah, I’m very disappointed with myself. It’s all on me and it’s a mistake.” The Monegasque was also heard questioning his team over team radio earlier about the timing of his pit stop. “Why did we stop? When is the rain?” Leclerc said. “Next time you make a decision please speak with me. I am here as well.”

“I put a very strong race in the bin”;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...4c9281ae8d92fd


Charles Leclerc on Miami GP error: I put my race in the bin
3 May 2026
Nate Saunders
ESPN.com

MIAMI -- Charles Leclerc took full blame for the late Miami Grand Prix mistake that saw him "put a very strong race in the bin" and drop from third to eighth on the final lap. The Ferrari driver and McLaren's Oscar Piastri were fighting for a spot on the podium at the start of the final lap Sunday. Piastri had got past him on the penultimate lap, but Leclerc had one final attempt to get by with his battery boost. But Leclerc spun while fighting for the position and tapped the wall with his left front tyre.

The slow-moving Leclerc then lost fourth position to George Russell at the penultimate corner -- where the two also made contact -- before Max Verstappen caught him in a drag race for fifth position as they approached the start-finish line. Leclerc finished sixth on the road, and that became eighth after a post-race 20-second penalty for skipping a number of corners as he nursed his car to the finish line.

Leclerc refused to blame the strategy for how his race unfolded. "I think that without the mistake, I could have done a podium," he said. "More than strategy, it's easy to blame on the strategy afterward; even with the best strategy with that mistake on the last lap, I probably wouldn't have been on the podium. First, I'll look at myself, and then surely I'll speak with the team to try and improve whatever we haven't optimized today."

‘Final attempt to get by’;

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/4...ce-bin-ferrari


Charles Leclerc demoted behind Lewis Hamilton, Franco Colapinto in Miami GP results after chaotic finish that was 'all on me'
4 May 2026
Sky Sports

Charles Leclerc said it was "all on me" after he "put a very strong race in the bin" in a torrid, chaotic end to his Miami Grand Prix which later saw the Ferrari driver demoted to eighth place by a stewards' penalty.

Leclerc told stewards that the car would not take right-hand turns properly after contact with the wall but officials ruled after their investigation that "the fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason" for cutting several corners.

"We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner," stewards said. "We accordingly impose a Drive Through penalty on Car 16 [Leclerc], given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage."

‘Charles Leclerc demoted’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...-was-all-on-me


Leclerc and Hamilton left frustrated after tough Miami Grand Prix
4 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Ferrari leave Miami with mixed emotions as Leclerc’s late mistake and penalty overshadow Hamilton’s damage limiting drive Ferrari’s Miami Grand Prix delivered a split narrative for the Scuderia. Lewis Hamilton salvaged what he could from a compromised car, while Charles Leclerc’s podium contending afternoon unravelled through a combination of strategy frustration, late race errors and a post race penalty that dropped him to eighth.

Hamilton hampered from the start after contact with Colapinto. Hamilton’s race was effectively shaped within seconds of the lights going out. The Briton made contact with Williams rookie Franco Colapinto off the line, an incident the stewards later deemed a straightforward racing incident. But the consequences were immediate and lasting: Hamilton’s SF 26 suffered damage that robbed him of downforce and left him unable to compete with the leading group.

Leclerc’s strong start unravels through strategy, traffic and a last lap error. While Hamilton was battling damage, Leclerc was very much in the fight at the front. He was the only one of the top three to navigate Turn 1 cleanly on the opening lap, emerging in the lead after chaos behind him. But the race soon turned more complicated. He lost out to Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris in the early phases, and Ferrari opted to pit him earlier than both to cover off a potential George Russell undercut. That decision dropped Leclerc into traffic, compromising his pace and costing him track position — a strategic call that left the Monegasque frustrated.

‘Mixed emotions’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28503


Lewis Hamilton reveals staggering Ferrari damage impact
Lewis Hamilton's Miami Grand Prix was undone on the opening lap of the race after contact with Franco Colapinto.
4 May 2026
Fergal Walsh & Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he was losing half a second per lap due to extensive damage to his car during the Miami Grand Prix. Although he was able to hold on to seventh place at the chequered flag, Hamilton stated he was carrying significant damage. “I was really unlucky to get caught up in Max's spin and obviously lost positions from there,” he told media including RacingNews365.

“Then I got damage from Franco and that lost me a ton of downforce. I was just in no man's land after that. I lost half a second of downforce on the car, I was just driving around, trying to get as many points as I could with the damage.” Hamilton asserted confidence that he would have been in the mix if not for the damage he picked up.

“We progressed going into qualifying and the laps to the grid felt really strong,” he added. “I was feeling like ‘we're going to be strong in this race’ - and then obviously, with the damage, it's the worst when it happens on lap one. There’s just nothing you can do.”

“Losing half a second per lap”;

https://racingnews365.com/lewis-hami...-damage-impact


Hamilton hints Ferrari might "have the best car, but it’s hard to fight with Mercedes” due to PU limitations
4 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Speaking to Mara Sangiorgio of Sky Italia, Lewis Hamilton was explicit about where Ferrari is losing its fights: “Engine upgrade? Yes, this really is what we need so much. "Now it's very hard for us to fight against the power of the Red Bull and Mercedes power units, which both have a big advantage over ours," the Briton continued. Ferrari’s deficit — widely believed in the paddock to be in the region of several tenths per lap depending on circuit layout — has become the defining limitation of the SF 26.

Lewis Hamilton repeatedly emphasised that Ferrari’s foundations are strong — strong enough, in his view, to fight for victories once the engine deficit is addressed. “For the rest, we have a great car, perhaps even the best, so we have to solve this problem because, if we succeed, we could really be fighting for victories.” This is the clearest public endorsement yet of Ferrari’s 2026 chassis concept from the seven time world champion. Internally, the team has been encouraged by the SF 26’s cornering performance and tyre management, both of which have been competitive even on circuits where Ferrari traditionally struggled.

A damage limited Sunday: “I had nothing”. Hamilton’s race unravelled early when Max Verstappen’s spin forced him off line, leaving him boxed in and then his SF26 suffered major floor damage due to a contact with Alpine's Franco Colapinto on the first lap. “I felt like we would have been more competitive, so I really felt optimistic for today. I got held up at the beginning when Max spun and I was in the wrong position for that, and then obviously the damage that I got after that then I was just… I had nothing.” From that moment, Hamilton was stuck in what he called “no man’s land”...

'PU limitations';

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28511

[Fortitude]

How Red Bull got Verstappen back in the fight.
Max Verstappen is back in the fight, but how did Red Bull turn things around so quickly in 2026?
5 May 2026
RacingNews365

From fixing a crucial steering issue to introducing a completely revised aerodynamic package including a new front wing, updated floor, redesigned sidepods, and their own version of the ‘Macarena wing’. The RB22 suddenly looked like a different car. In this video, we break down exactly what changed and why it worked.

‘Back in the fight’;

https://racingnews365.com/how-red-bu...k-in-the-fight


Red Bull apologises to Max Verstappen for not fixing F1 steering issue earlier
5 May 2026
Ronald Vording
Motorsport.com

Technical Director Pierre Wache explains that Red Bull tried multiple fixes for a steering issue on the RB22, but that identifying the root cause proved complex.

Max Verstappen revealed during his Dutch media session that there is another factor at play as well: Red Bull discovered an issue in the steering system and has finally been able to address it.

‘Identifying the root cause proved complex’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/r...lier/10818389/


Max Verstappen hailed for 'genius' recovery: 'I can't tell you how hard that is'
Max Verstappen was involved in a high-speed spin on the opening lap of the Miami Grand Prix last weekend.
5 May 2026
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

“On a bone-dry track, Charles Leclerc's fast-starting Ferrari, from third on the grid, would be side-by-side with Max Verstappen as they exited Turn 1, even though pole-sitter Antonelli had a reasonable start this time,” Brundle wrote in his column for Sky F1.

“Pinched to the Turn Two apex by Leclerc, Verstappen was too eager on the throttle and looped around, an unusual mistake for him for which he would hurriedly apologise to the team on the radio.” While Verstappen dropped to the midfield, Brundle was impressed by the Dutchman's car control to ensure he was not collected by a rival driver.

“Before that we saw some of his genius in the recovery,” he said. “In front of the whole pack except Leclerc, he deftly used the throttle, brakes, and steering wheel to execute a full 360-degree turn, pointing nicely down the racetrack and somehow maintaining some forward speed. I can't tell you how hard that is in these plus-sized F1 cars full of fuel in the heat of battle. This dramatically minimised the chances of being run into and kept him in ninth place at the end of the lap.”

'Genius';

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...w-hard-that-is


Red Bull Boss reveals how Verstappen escaped Miami disqualification drama
5 May 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies has explained how Max Verstappen avoided disqualification during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, despite teammate Isack Hadjar suffering that very fate. Asked whether the two cars had been set up differently ahead of qualifying, Mekies clarified that both drivers ran identical specifications, with the issue on Hadjar’s car coming down to a costly human error.

“They were on the exact same spec. We made a mistake on Isack’s car. It’s very simple: the car was found to be two millimetres too wide. We should have spotted it earlier in our routine checks. We did not, and it’s painful, but it’s easy to fix,” Mekies told GPblog. Hadjar’s floor was found to be illegal as it protruded two millimetres beyond the dimensions defined in the F1 2026 technical regulations.

Max Verstappen passed the post-qualifying scrutineering and subsequently kept his front-row start. The race itself in Miami unfolded in a manner that left little to be desired for the Red Bull outfit, with Hadjar suffering a crash on the sixth lap and Verstappen spinning on the opening lap, which saw him slide down the running order.

‘Miami disqualification drama’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/red-b...fication-drama


Verstappen makes ‘rally’ joke as pundits debate ‘talent v luck’
5 May 2026
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Max Verstappen joked that if F1 doesn’t work out for him, he might need a future in rallying after a dramatic 360 spin at the Miami Grand Prix. It went wrong for the four-time world champion on the opening lap as he challenged Charles Leclerc only to spin at Turn 2. Verstappen managed to execute a perfect 360, impressing with his ability even in the face of a mistake.

The Dutch racer joked he could try his hand at rally after that manoeuvre. “I lost the rear in Turn 2 and then of course I tried to minimise the time loss by doing a 360,” Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and other media. “Yeah, I thought I was going to crash but then I floored it, so I managed to do a good 360. If F1 doesn’t work out I can always go rally.”

Asked if his minor contact with Leclerc as they battled for P1 had played a part in his spin, Verstappen denied that. “Just one of those things,” he said. “I don’t think so. I mean, we just pushed, of course, into the corner, but, yeah, just lost something. The rear just started to slide. And once it goes, you know, with heavy fuel it’s hard to catch.”

‘Could try his hand at rally after that manoeuvre’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...ke-f1-analysis


Red Bull – more than just an F1 team in Miami
5 May 2026
Elizabeth Blackstock
Motorsport Week

Over the weekend of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, motorsport journalist, historian and award-winning podcaster, Elizabeth Blackstock, spent time with Red Bull’s American division. In a special feature for Motorsport Week, Elizabeth shows us that in Miami, Red Bull is more than just a race team.

Throughout the weekend, multiple members of the Red Bull staff shared their belief that the Miami Grand Prix is their most challenging — and rewarding — event of the year. Preparations for 2026 kicked off the moment the checkered flag flew on 2025’s edition of the race, drawing in almost every department of the company to work a little magic. Things only ramped up in the weeks ahead of the Grand Prix, and during the weekend itself, days were long.

One of the most fascinating elements of the Red Bull program is how it positions its athletes. Yes, Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen were hard at work throughout the weekend, but countless other sports personalities were on hand all weekend. Whincup and Polvoorde were able to flaunt their skills at Homestead, but the centerpiece of the weekend was the trackside Red Bull Energy Station. Yet simply branding it a “hospitality experience” would be a major disservice; it’s more akin to joining the exceptional milieu of the Red Bull athlete program for the weekend.

‘More than just an F1 team’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...team-in-miami/

[Fortitude]

How did Williams achieve its first double-points finish with its 500 part Miami upgrade package?
Williams arrived in Miami with the largest upgrade package it has produced in years — around 500 new parts in total, including the first major round of weight saving measures.
6 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

In aerodynamic terms, this was effectively the car the team had intended to race in Australia, but delays over the winter meant the Grove outfit only now reached its planned baseline. The result was immediate and tangible. Williams was not suddenly a frontrunner, but it was back in the fight — competitive in the midfield, operationally sharp, and rewarded with its first double points finish of the season as Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon brought the FW48 home in ninth and tenth. It was a weekend that showed both how far Williams has come, and how far it still needs to go.

A car finally in the window: The scale of the upgrade — and the fact that it arrived later than intended — underlined how far behind Williams had fallen in the off season. But Miami marked the first time the team could combine aerodynamic development with weight reduction, even if it still cannot do both at the pace it would like. The FW48 behaved more consistently, allowed both drivers to race in the midfield, and gave Williams the platform to capitalise on a chaotic opening lap. Both Sainz and Albon kept clear of trouble, gained positions early, and executed clean, well timed pit stops that protected their track position.

Team Principal James Vowles highlighted both the achievement and the long road ahead: "Well done to the team. It's great to see the hard work of the last five weeks, and the aero package all adding up, putting us in stronger place than we started the season. It's still a long road, but the positive news is that there's more performance to come throughout the rest of the season," Vowles noted.

‘500 part Miami upgrade package’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28514


Williams achieve F1 2026 milestone with delayed "race one package"
Carlos Sainz hailed the delayed Williams Formula 1 upgrades that powered him to points at the Miami Grand Prix
5 May 2026
Sam Hall, Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Carlos Sainz expressed his relief after Williams finally fitted its planned ‘race one’ package for the Miami Grand Prix, with both cars scoring points. Williams has endured a difficult start to the 2026 season – the only team to miss the Barcelona shakedown entirely, struggling with debilitating weight issues, and running so late with its development that the first three rounds were contested without the package planned for Australia.

Having struggled for points across those initial races, both Sainz and team-mate Alex Albon were able to finish inside the top 10 on pure pace in Miami, recording a first double-points outcome of the campaign. “We finally put on the upgrade of the car that was supposed to come to race one,” said Sainz. “Because of all the delays we had at the start of the season, now we have finally put the car [on track] that was supposed to be the race one package.”

“Now it’s on the car, it is performing at least at the level of the midfield cars. We know we still have a lot of weight to shed off the car, and when you look at that, it’s positive.” Williams had made no secret that it expected to gain ground in 2026, having languished for much of the last decade towards the foot of the constructors’ table, and after switching development away from its 2025 car at the earliest opportunity in order to focus on the new rules.

"Race one package";

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109449...ce-one-package


Williams trims weight as Sainz plays down rule tweaks
Williams has taken a step forward in Miami after a difficult start to 2026, with a key part of its upgrade focused simply on reducing weight.
3 MAY 2026
GrandPrix.com

Driver Carlos Sainz said the car is at least more competitive than before the April break. “The good thing is that we were able to recover,” he said. “We were faster than the Haas cars, which we weren't five weeks ago, so it's positive.”

However, as a GPDA director, Sainz also played down the impact of the new regulation tweaks, designed in part to appease the increasingly-critical driver contingent. “Very little has changed. We knew very little would change”, he said. “We'll have to wait until later in the season, or even next year, for the FIA and the teams to dare to make bigger changes.”

Behind the scenes, much of Williams' progress has come from a major weight reduction program. Team boss James Vowles revealed the scale of the effort. “The engineering work they've completed at the factory has removed all the weight from the car plus 10 kilos”, he said. “That's the engineering work that's been completed - it hasn't been delivered to the car because, with the current cost cap, it's no longer efficient to do so.”

‘Williams trims weight’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/willi...le-tweaks.html


Carlos Sainz hails Williams progress after F1 Miami GP
6 May 2026
James Phillips
Motorsport Week

Carlos Sainz outlines next step for Williams. With progress now made, Sainz outlined the next steps for Williams in the coming races. outlining one clear target. “Now it’s on the car, it is performing at least at the level of the midfield cars. We know we still have a lot of weight to shed off the car, and when you look at that, it’s positive.”

“Clearly, this weekend, I think we were about sixth fastest, but then Alpine is 20-seconds in front of us here. It would have been 25-30 without a safety car. So to Alpine, there is still a bit gap, and to the front-runners, I cannot even tell you. We need to put our heads down, make this our new baseline, and start improving.”

Williams’ step forward is only the start of its journey to master these new regulations. The knock-on effects of its delays will likely continue for the next few races as it is now behind in the development race.

‘Next step for Williams’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...r-f1-miami-gp/


James Vowles admits Williams ‘gap is large’ despite 2026 progress push
3 May 2026
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com

James Vowles has admitted Williams are facing a steep climb in 2026, despite believing the team is finally heading in the right direction. “A really messy winter and the break gave us an opportunity to reset, take a breath, catch up, form a plan for not just Miami, of which we brought upgrades here, but really what we’re doing now across everywhere up until the end of the season to put ourselves back into a sensible position, fundamentally,” Vowles said.

“I am proud of the work that the team did. Every area was basically working at maximum capacity and that’s despite a difficult winter where people were putting in big, big hours. However, the gap is so large from where we are to the front that I’m sure we’ve made a small step into that, but it is a small step and we need to keep doing that across the number of races in the future in order to make a tangible difference. So positive first session but it is literally just one session and the gaps are still large.”

“For me, it’s as we get to where we finish developing the car, which will be after the August break, that the car is sensibly back to being the top of the midfield, with everything in a sensible position, building on next year’s car. What I enjoy about Williams is there is no resistance to change for greatness. What I mean by that is we will point ourselves in the right direction and follow along with that as long as there is clear ambition and drive to this being at a championship level and former Mercedes engineer Dan Milner brings that.”

‘Williams are facing a steep climb in 2026’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/james-...s-messy-winter


Why it will 'take time' for Williams to cut weight off its heavy 2026 F1 car
2 May 2026
Ed Hardy
Motorsport.com

The FW48 is understood to be 28Kg above the regulated minimum weight of 768Kg, down from 800Kg last year as part of the drastic rule change for this year’s campaign.

But driver Carlos Sainz doesn’t believe Williams will see the benefits of that until later in the year, as Vowles revealed only “a couple of Kilos” has been taken out of the car this weekend.

That’s despite the factory having already engineered the FW48 to the ideal weight, it’s just that it “will take a bit of time” to apply the work to the car with gradual steps at each race.

‘28Kg above the regulated minimum weight’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...-car/10817281/

SHOULD HAVE POSTED THURSDAY 8th May 2026, but Motorsport Forum was offline most of the day…

[Fortitude]

Hamilton reveals the reason for his setup woes with the SF26.
Lewis Hamilton left the Miami Grand Prix weekend with mixed emotions: encouraged by the progress Ferrari eventually unlocked, yet frustrated by how long it took to find it.
6 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Across three days that swung from confusion to clarity and finally to damage limitation, the seven time world champion offered a remarkably candid assessment of where things went wrong — and what must change. By the time the main qualifying session arrived, the SF 26 had been transformed. Hamilton described the shift as dramatic, and his relief was evident.

“It was an improvement. We made lots of changes to the car, we didn't have software issues. So I think we progressed, we stepped forward. I think Q2 was feeling really solid, and then when I got to Q3 I just wasn't able to extract the maximum.” The pace was there — but the execution was not fully polished. Hamilton believed a top three start was within reach.

“I don't feel comfortable in P6, that's not where I want to be. So quite unhappy with P6, naturally, but I'm happy that we made changes going to qualifying and we progressed. We did improve. I think top three was probably possible, so I just got to work on it.” The frustration was not about the final position alone, but about the lost opportunity. Had Ferrari found the correct setup direction earlier, Hamilton felt the entire weekend would have unfolded differently.

‘Mixed emotions’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28512


Hamilton ‘just a passenger’ in Miami GP after first lap damage
04/05/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Even beyond Sunday’s race, there was a sense that the foundations of the weekend had been shaky from the outset. “I think, as I said, we just started on the wrong foot this weekend,” Hamilton said. “So the car was very snappy on the way into corners, and massive understeer mid-corner. So that's not the balance that you want. It was better for qualifying than going into the race.”

For Hamilton, Miami wasn’t defined by a lack of pace or effort, but by circumstance – the kind that leaves a driver watching opportunities disappear in real time. One lap. One incident. One piece of damage. And from there, nothing but “no-man’s land.” The trouble began almost immediately. As Max Verstappen spun ahead at Turn 2, Hamilton was forced to take evasive action, running wide and losing crucial track position.

That avoidance dropped him into the path of the Alpine of Franco Colapinto – and into further trouble. As Hamilton tried to recover ground, contact at Turn 11 inflicted damage that would define the rest of his afternoon. “I was really unlucky to get caught up with Max's spin, and obviously lost positions from there,” he said. “And then got damage from Franco, and then that lost me a ton of downforce. And I was just in no-man's land after that.”

“Started on the wrong foot”;

https://f1i.com/news/563966-hamilton...ap-damage.html


Vasseur reveals limitations that hindered Hamilton and Leclerc at the Miami Grand Prix
4 May 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Team Principal Fred Vasseur summarised the situation bluntly: “With Lewis, the race was largely about managing the damage from lap one, which meant dealing with overheating and doing a lot of lift and coast just to bring the car to the finish.” Despite the limitations, Hamilton kept the car in contention for points and ultimately finished sixth, the maximum Ferrari believed was achievable given the compromised condition of the SF 26.
Despite the setbacks, Vasseur stressed that Ferrari leave Miami with clear areas for improvement and some encouraging signs: “Overall, it was a challenging Sunday on both sides of the garage.” “However, there are some positives to take from the weekend: the starts were good and the upgrades worked as expected. We know where we need to improve – consistency, managing traffic and extracting the full potential of the package.”

‘Vasseur reveals limitations’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28504


Lewis Hamilton ditches Ferrari simulator ahead of Canadian GP over correlation concerns
6 May 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

“I’m going to have a different approach in the next race,” Lewis Hamilton declared to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media following the Miami GP. Because the way we’re preparing at the moment, it’s not helping. So we’ll see how that goes for the next race. But also, we’re going to another track with long straights, and we’re losing three to four tenths just on straight line speed. So that’s there, and it’s going to be there until we fix it.”

For Hamilton, what he is experiencing in the Ferrari simulator versus the real-life SF-26, does not align. “Ultimately, it’s always correlation,” he added. “We go on it [the simulator], and then you get to the track, and the car feels different when you get to the track. I’m not going to go on the simulator between now and the next race. I’ll still go and hold meetings at the factory and stuff, but just going to back away from it for a little bit and see. When we went to China, I had the best weekend, and without sim.”

‘Correlation concerns’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...nadian-gp-plan


Lewis Hamilton confirms radical Ferrari F1 decision for Canadian GP
6 May 2026
James Phillips
Motorsport Week

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he will take a radical new approach to preparation for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton and Ferrari endured a frustrating weekend in Miami, despite bringing 11 upgrades to the SF-26.

Effectively running a completely new car, the hope at Maranello was that the team could challenge the dominant Mercedes, with extensive simulator testing taking place in preparation. Hamilton’s decision to avoid simulator points to a lack of confidence in trusting the data it provides. If the seven-time world champion performs well in Canada, he will no doubt feel vindicated.

‘Radical new approach’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...for-f1-canada/


Why Hamilton thinks Ferrari simulator is hurting him right now
'No simulator'? Hamilton's bold idea to fix 2026 mini-slump
5 May 2026
VALENTIN KHOROUNZHIY
The Race

Believing the Ferrari simulator has been "sending me in the wrong direction"… …Lewis Hamilton - who pointed out that his best weekend in China came without the chance to do sim prep in the run-up (as it was a back-to-back weekend after Australia) - acknowledged that it's widely known he "doesn't like simulators in general". But I'm at the simulator every week in the build-up to this race and working on correlation constantly.”

"You go on it, you prepare for the track, you drive it and you get the car set-up to a certain place - and then you come to the track and that set-up doesn't work," he lamented. "And in the sprint weekend for example, you've only got practice one, you don't really want to veer off from your set-up too far, like with a big suspension change, and so you stay with it. And then you make a change going into qualifying and you've only got six laps to get on top of it.”

"So in an ideal world I should have started where Charles was at the beginning of the weekend and I think we would have just had a stronger weekend from there on. So I'm not going to go on the simulator between now and the next race [in Canada]. I'll still go and hold meetings at the factory and stuff - but I'm just going to back away from it [the simulator] for a little bit and see."

'No simulator?’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/n...26-mini-slump/