Despite a disappointing final result at the Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari can still draw several reasons for hope according to James Hinchcliffe, convinced that the developments introduced will eventually bear fruit.
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Ferrari arrived in Miami with great ambitions and especially a huge program of technical developments. No fewer than eleven new parts had been installed on the SF-26 to allow the Italian team to reduce the gap with Mercedes and McLaren.
But despite these novelties, the Florida weekend ultimately turned into huge frustration for the Scuderia. Lewis Hamilton as well as Charles Leclerc had complicated races, preventing Ferrari from converting its potential into a big result.
However, according to former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, the performances seen in the race show that not everything is to be discarded on the Maranello side.
Hamilton handicapped from the first lap
Lewis Hamilton’s race was practically compromised from the first corners after contact with Franco Colapinto.
The clash with the Alpine driver caused significant damage to the Briton’s Ferrari, notably a substantial loss of aerodynamic downforce. Under these conditions, Hamilton was never able to keep up with the pace of the leaders throughout the Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion ultimately finished far from the positions Ferrari hoped for after the many developments brought to the car.
This situation greatly limited the team’s ability to really assess the full effectiveness of the new aerodynamic package.
Leclerc had the podium in sight before his mistake
On the other side of the garage, Charles Leclerc seemed on the other hand capable of playing a leading role. The Monegasque found himself fighting for the podium for a good part of the race and even briefly led the race.
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But everything changed on the last lap when Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari before hitting the wall. The incident severely damaged his car and forced him to finish the race with a heavily damaged car.
To manage to finish the race, the Ferrari driver also cut several corners, which earned him a penalty after the finish. Result: Ferrari ultimately left Miami with a modest sixth and eighth place, far from the initial expectations.
“Not all is lost” for Ferrari
Despite this frustrating conclusion, James Hinchcliffe believes that Ferrari can still take positive elements from the American weekend.
“If you take away Charles Leclerc’s spin, Ferrari was fighting for the podium until the last lap” he recalls in the F1 Nation podcast.
The former Canadian driver also emphasizes that a sprint weekend greatly complicates the optimal exploitation of a new technical package.
“The results will obviously be disappointing, but I think they can still take a lot of positives from this weekend.”
Hinchcliffe acknowledges that the developments did not immediately bring the massive gain hoped for, but he remains convinced that Ferrari will progress in the upcoming races.
“The package probably did not bring an immediate second per lap, but during a sprint weekend, it is very difficult to optimize everything. Yes, the result is a bit disappointing, but I don’t think all is lost.”
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