Hamilton defensive after team radio tirade: 'It was more sarcastic than anything'

Lewis Hamilton defended himself and his team after Ferrari's strategic blunder at the Miami Grand Prix, claiming that, all things considered, he "really enjoyed the race".

Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc battled over seventh and eighth positions in the latter stages of the 57-lap event on differing tyre strategies.

The seven-time World Champion was on the faster medium compound of tyre, whereas Leclerc was struggling for pace on the hard tyre.

Hamilton asked for a switch of positions so that he could try and catch the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in P6, but it took a while for Ferrari to make a decision on the matter.

"Let's Not Waste Time"

In his frustration stuck behind the slower Leclerc, Hamilton expressed his anger at the lack of urgency on the Ferrari pit wall, stating over team radio: "This is not good team work" and sarcastically commenting: "Have a tea break while you're at it."

The Ferrari driver ultimately finished the Grand Prix in eighth. After the race, Hamilton explained the situation as he saw it behind the wheel of his SF-25.

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He told Sky Sports F1: "Well, first, I really enjoyed the race. Honestly, it was difficult. I knew it was going to be difficult today, starting from 12th.

"But yeah, once I got past the Haas, I got onto the medium tyre. I was feeling really optimistic. The car was coming back alive and I was really thinking I had potential to catch the guys ahead. I was hoping we'd get a safety car - but that never came," added Hamilton.

The 40-year-old was quick to clear up any misconceptions surrounding his relationship with his team after his heated comments during the race.

He continued: "Then obviously I lost a lot of time behind Charles, and in that moment I was like, 'Come on, let's make a decision really quick. Let's not waste time.'

"I'm sure people didn't like some of the comments, but I mean, it was just... you've got to understand, especially... people say way worse things than I say, you know.

"So it was more sarcastic than anything. I'm not frustrated now. We'll work internally. We'll have discussions and keep pushing," Hamilton concluded.

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