Hamilton Qualifies P6 in Miami GP After Ferrari Software Fix

Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for Sunday's Miami Grand Prix after Ferrari made extensive changes to his SF-26, resolving software issues that hampered his performance during Friday's Sprint events. The session marked an improvement from his seventh-place finish in Sprint qualifying and the subsequent Sprint race, where he trailed teammate Charles Leclerc, who starts third on the grid.

Hamilton's weekend began promisingly, with Leclerc topping the single practice session and Hamilton fourth fastest. Ferrari arrived with 11 upgrades, including a revised floor, diffuser and rear wing aimed at boosting cornering load and drag reduction. However, Sprint qualifying exposed problems. Hamilton dropped to seventh in SQ3 after struggling with front wheel locking on soft tires, while Leclerc took fourth. Leclerc noted the mediums worked well but softs felt poor, attributing some shortfall to rivals' upgrades, particularly McLaren's step forward.

Software glitches prevented proper power deployment, costing Hamilton pace on straights during Sprint qualifying and the 19-lap Sprint race, where he finished seventh and Leclerc third. "Yesterday, we lost three tenths just because the software...