11 May 1-7, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | An Adjustment Period Announcing his move early last year meant Hamilton’s divorce from Mercedes would be a long one. Conversely, he hasn’t had much of a honeymoon with Ferrari. The season opened with a rainy mess of an Australian Grand Prix that resulted in five car retirements and one racer, Isack Hadjar of the Red Bull B-team Racing Bulls, crashing out on the way to the starting line. After qualifying P8, Hamilton finished tenth, still in the points but certainly not up to his usual standard and below his teammate Charles LeClerc in eighth. That bad luck would be repeated the fol- lowing weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. After a barnstorming sprint race victory in which Hamilton won for Ferrari for the first time, the driver clashed with LeClerc during the race, caus- ing damage to the lat- ter’s car. He finished in sixth, which would have been an im- provement, except the FIA shockingly disqualified both Fer- raris — Hamilton for excessive plank wear and LeClerc for his car’s failure to meet weight requirements. The team bounced back slightly at the Japa- nese Grand Prix, held earlier this month at the famed Suzuka International Racing Course. As Verstappen sailed away with the win, Hamilton settled for P7 after qualifying in P8, and LeClerc finished just shy of the po- dium in P4. Hamilton finished fifth in Bah- rain but fell back again in Saudi Arabia. It’s not uncommon for drivers to go through an adjustment period at a new team before find- ing their footing and competing for trophies, and while Hamilton may not be winning quite yet, his consistent top-10 finishes show he’s in a good position to improve as the team improves the car. As the season continues on to Miami, this is only the beginning for these two championship contenders. Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Sunday, May 4, at Miami International Autodrome (Hard Rock Stadium), 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gar- dens; f1miamigp.com. Tickets cost $65 to $6,000 via f1miamigp.com. [email protected] The Miami Grand Prix returns to Hard Rock Stadium for the fourth year. IT’S NOT UNCOMMON FOR DRIVERS TO GO THROUGH AN ADJUSTMENT PERIOD AT A NEW TEAM BEFORE FINDING THEIR FOOTING. Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
