Ferrari issued major warning from former F1 driver after Miami GP upgrade fails to impress

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has argued that Ferrari's Miami Grand Prix upgrades left a lot to be desired. 

After a strong start to the season, especially with impressive performances at race starts from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, there were high expectations for the Maranello outfit's upgrades in Miami.

But by the time the drivers reached the chequered flag at Sunday's grand prix, it was McLaren's upgrade package that had more of an impact on the standings. Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli clinched the victory and was joined on the podium by McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Hamilton finished sixth and Leclerc was classified eighth after receiving a 20-second penalty.

"If that is the big Ferrari upgrade for this early part of the season, then McLaren and Mercedes won't be worried," Chandhok explained on the Sky Sports F1 Show.

"Miami should have been the weekend which propelled them in front. I feel like they've slipped behind.

"For me, there should be a little bit of concern at Maranello and Ferrari."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

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The former HRT driver continued: "They've got to think about whether there's further performance to be optimised or unlocked from this update because otherwise they will get dropped behind when McLaren add the bits that we believe are coming to Canada and Mercedes get their big upgrade."

Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft, who joined Chandhok on the episode, added: "I don't know what it is with Ferrari. Is it that small turbo that's great in the opening laps, but as the fuel kind of burns off with the other cars, then they don't have that advantage from that smaller turbo, and it becomes a disadvantage for them?

"Would Lewis Hamilton have featured more without losing all that downforce early on?

"I hope on the drawing board somewhere at Maranello, they've got another upgrade package that works a little bit better, otherwise they are in trouble."