How did Hamilton salvage his Miami Sprint with a strategic masterstroke?

Having only finished eighth at the Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari's seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton collected a podium finish a day earlier at the Miami F1 Sprint thanks to a bold strategy.

Hamilton started the 18-lap sprint from P6 on the grid, and became the only driver to represent Ferrari after his team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed into the walls on his first sighting lap.

The Briton struggled for pace on the intermediate tyres, having complained about high tyre degradation on the rapidly drying track. However, he pitted exactly at the perfect time, and jumped up to third place to record his second podium finish with the Scuderia.

The team radio exchange on Lap 12 reveals that it was not Ferrari to push for the early stop. In fact, it was the seven-time world champion to push for the switch, overruling Ferrari’s initial medium compound suggestion and opting instead for softs as the drying track presented a slim window of opportunity.

The critical radio exchange between Hamilton and Adami:

Hamilton: “It’s too late to go for dries, right?”
Adami: “Yeah.”
Hamilton: “I mean I’ve got no grip out here mate, so the time would be now.”
Hamilton: “Only 16 is wet.”
Adami: “Okay, box for medium.”
Hamilton: “No, soft mate. Soft!”
Adami: “Box. Soft, copy soft.”