Lewis Hamilton suspects F1 rivals are gaining from a trick Ferrari has missed

Lewis Hamilton suspects Ferrari may have missed a trick its Formula 1 rivals are currently taking advantage of.

Ferrari brought extensive upgrades to the Miami Grand Prix but underwhelmed with its performance, while rivals McLaren and Red Bull made clear gains in the hunt to close the deficit to current F1 benchmark Mercedes.

Speaking after qualifying in Miami, seven-time world champion Hamilton questioned the design choices made by Ferrari in one key aerodynamic area that he believes Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull have done a better job with. 

“The team worked incredibly hard to bring those components and it’s a step, but the others have also taken a step,” Hamilton told media including Crash.net.

“I heard McLaren brought a step and it was worth much more than they had anticipated. That’s not how we have experienced ours.

They - Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull - are doing something different with their front wing [compared] to us.

"So we need to look into that to see whether or not there's something we can improve on.”

Asked if the front wing difference is related to straight line mode activation or overall concept, the 41-year-old Briton replied: "Concept, I think.

"If you just look at everyone else's wing and look at us, you'll see it looks different.

“So, I don't know if that's necessarily the whole thing, but I wonder what that's doing, because the others seem to have it and they've improved.”

It was a disappointing result for Ferrari in Miami as Hamilton finished sixth, while team-mate Charles Leclerc was classified eighth after being hit with a huge post-race penalty.

Hamilton admitted Ferrari needs to work on improving its straight line speed if it is to have any chance of challenging the front runners at the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix.

“We’re going to another track with long straights and we’re losing three to four tenths just on straight line speed,” Hamilton said in response to a question from Crash.net after the race. “That’s there and it’s going to be there until we fix it.”

“I’m looking forward to it, but we need to see if we can cut some drag before the next race because in a straight line we’ve got that deficit.”