MIAMI GARDENS, FL. — Ferrari’s Miami Grand Prix weekend went from one filled with hope to the Italian team walking away arguing in its postrace recap that the final results don’t “reflect the true potential” of its car.

It brought 11 upgrades to Miami, the most across the grid. Early signs pointed toward the team taking a step forward, though so did McLaren. The papaya crew appeared to have the edge over Ferrari and even Mercedes at times, with Lando Norris taking pole and win in the sprint race. Charles Leclerc secured a top-three finish in the sprint race and qualified third for the grand prix.

But his race fell apart in the matter of four corners in the race’s final moments, while teammate Lewis Hamilton’s day was practically over on the first lap around Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Team principal Fred Vasseur claimed in the team’s postrace recap that the updates are working, but was it enough of a step forward? It’s questionable, compared to its competitors — such as McLaren, which looked stronger this weekend after its seven upgrades, or Mercedes, which will bring a bigger upgrade package at the Canadian Grand Prix on May 24. Mistakes and damage potentially clouded Ferrari’s true state.

At the start of the Miami Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli (the eventual race winner), Max Verstappen and Leclerc went barreling down towards Turn 1, and the Ferrari driver’s strong start vaulted him into the lead. But as the grid navigated to Turn 2, Verstappen spun, leading to numerous drivers, including Hamilton, to take evasive action to avoid colliding with the Dutchman.

That led the Briton to lose positions as he rejoined the track, and Hamilton soon found himself in a battle with Franco Colapinto. The cars made contact on that opening lap, and Hamilton’s car experienced significant damage, heavily restricting his race.

“I want to say without the damage, we would have been right up in the fight,” Hamilton said postrace. “The car was feeling good, as I said, to the laps to the grid. So it’s a shame because it doesn’t really truly reflect the hard work that the team has done.”

Going into Miami, Ferrari had secured a podium in all three races this season, with Leclerc taking two and Hamilton securing one. When Vasseur was asked about it during Friday’s FIA news conference, he said he was “quite happy with the fact that we didn’t leave a single point on the table”.

Leclerc looked set for another podium finish early in Miami. Starts haven’t been an issue for the team, and when he went in front of Antonelli and Verstappen, his pace was strong in clean air. It did seem as if his pace began dropping, though, as the tire deteriorated. Leclerc said after the race that the grippier medium compound, which he started the grand prix on, degraded significantly.

That pit stop, though, was a questionable call, one where Leclerc expressed his thoughts over the team radio. He said during the race, “Next time you make a decision, please speak with me. I am here as well.”

Part of the issue was that there was a threat of rain, and it wasn’t entirely clear whether or when the showers would hit. He was pitted to cover off George Russell, and rejoined in 12th. But if rain were imminent, it would have been a dicey decision. 

Lewis Hamilton secured points for Ferrari despite damage (Getty Images)

Leclerc made quick work to make his way back through the field and made a pass on Verstappen after Lap 47. The Ferrari was again within podium contention, but Oscar Piastri was gaining ground.

On the penultimate lap, the McLaren driver overtook the Ferrari. He said postrace that he “didn’t make (Piastri’s) life too difficult before the last corner for him to overtake me” because Leclerc wanted to overtake on the last lap. Piastri had fresher tires so defending would have been difficult.

“I was relatively calm in the car,” Leclerc said. “Then, of course, I pushed like an animal in Turn 3.”

And that’s where his race fell apart. Leclerc made a mistake and spun, clipping the wall and damaging his car. He lost spots to Russell and Verstappen, and Leclerc had to cut corners during that final lap with how significant the damage to his car was — “I couldn’t really turn to the right anymore.”

“I’m very disappointed with myself. It’s all on me, and it’s a mistake,” Leclerc said. “I need to look because with these cars, you always have a bit of a question mark of how much it deploys. And considering it was the last lap, maybe there was a bit more out of that corner, as you just need to finish the lap with that amount of energy.

“But that’s not an excuse in any way. It’s all on me, and it’s not acceptable.”

Ferrari trails championship-leading Mercedes by 70 points in the standings. The Silver Arrows have now secured four pole positions and four victories. And that’s only with a few upgrades to its car this past weekend, with a bigger package planned for Montreal. It doesn’t seem like the other competitors are in a position to challenge Mercedes just yet, but McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari have taken a step forward.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have their work cut out in Montreal (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“You’d have to feel silly if you don’t feel confident about the future when we improved so much this weekend,” said Norris, who finished second in Miami. “We also know it’s a track that suits us.” He went on to point out that the Miami track hasn’t quite suited Mercedes like it has McLaren, but Montreal is a circuit where the Silver Arrows “have probably been the best at over the last five, six years.”

Norris added, “I know we’re bringing upgrades, but in Formula 1, it’s too easy to judge things over one race. You need to see how you are over a number of races and different styles of track: street circuits, hot tracks, cold tracks, tight and twisty, fast circuits.”

At the beginning of the weekend, Vasseur said in the FIA news conference after an extended FP1 session that the drivers’ initial reaction to the upgrades was positive. That seemed to hold as the weekend went on, with Ferrari still thereabouts while McLaren took a 1-2 finish in the sprint race, with Leclerc third.

The final test was completing a full race distance, and Leclerc felt the upgrades were working. But how much a team makes a step forward is only relative to the rest of the competition. Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are closing the gap to Mercedes, but more upgrades are coming: Mercedes will bring a bulk in Montreal, while McLaren will bring more next time out.

“Others are pushing as well, and probably the upgrade package was a little bit better,” Leclerc said. “We’ve got other things coming soon, and hopefully that will help us to get back a little bit in front.

“It’s fine details, but with this generation of cars, especially on this first year, it will all be about the development.”