Hamilton details Miami damage after Colapinto clash

Lewis Hamilton said first-lap contact with Franco Colapinto at Turn 11 in Miami left his Ferrari badly damaged and short of downforce, defining a race he still salvaged into sixth after Charles Leclerc’s post-race penalty.

The moment that captured Hamilton’s frustration came only seconds later. After tangling with Colapinto as he tried to pass around the outside at one of the Miami International Autodrome’s main overtaking spots, Hamilton got back ahead approaching Turn 17 and raised his middle finger at the Alpine driver in an incident that was not shown on the live broadcast.

Hamilton’s concern was immediate. On lap two, he told race engineer Carlos Santi he had “definitely lost something from the car” on the “left side.” A lap later, Hamilton added: “Going to be a long race like this” and “Lacking a lot of downforce.” By lap five, the picture had not improved. “Don’t have the downforce to keep up with these guys,” he said.

Ferrari’s response made clear why the car had changed so sharply. Santi told him the damage was worth “10 to 15 points” and was “more in high speed than in low speed.” Hamilton kept reporting the effect as the race unfolded, saying on lap six: “It’s going to be a long race with this damage” and “Feels just pretty poor.” On lap nine, he warned: “It’s going to be hard to beat these faster cars, pure speed.”

The damage also forced Hamilton into significant lift-and-coast later in the race, with Ferrari attributing that management to the collision. He crossed the line seventh on the road, then moved up to sixth when team mate Leclerc was given a 20-second penalty.

Over the radio after the finish, Hamilton called it “a frustrating race” and apologized to the team for the outcome. In his post-race comments, he said the updated car had felt competitive until the opening-lap contact changed his afternoon. He said he had already been held up when Max Verstappen spun and was “in the wrong position for that,” before adding: “and then obviously the damage that I got after that then I had nothing.”

Hamilton described the rest of the grand prix as “a long race in no-man’s land,” a verdict that underlined how much the clash with Colapinto had cost him. Colapinto, who said Alpine escaped the contact without excessive damage, finished just behind Hamilton and secured the best Formula 1 result of his career.