Lewis Hamilton 'gamble' lifts Ferrari after Charles Leclerc heartbreak

Lewis Hamilton has hailed the “gamble” he took to pit for dry tyres in questionable conditions during the Miami sprint race.

Hamilton was running in sixth place when he became one of the first to opt for slick tyres as the track continued to dry up.

The early stop paid off for the seven-time champion as he found himself in fourth place after the round of pit stops before moving into the top three when he overtook Max Verstappen, who was nursing a broken front wing.

Hamilton's top three result offered Ferrari some relief from having just one car in the race after Charles Leclerc crashed on the reconnaissance lap.

“I’m so happy with that,” he said after the race. “It's been a tough year so far.

“I never thought it was going to rain in Miami. It was the first time we’ve all been on track in the wet here and what a race it provided us.

“I really did struggle on the inters, I think everyone was struggling on them.”

Hamilton revealed the decision to come into the pit lane originated from him, rather than the Ferrari strategy team.

“I made that call at the end,” he said. “I was like ‘I’m coming in’ because I was going nowhere.

“So I took the risk, I took the gamble, and it paid off. I wish we had another couple laps to give these guys [McLaren] a bit of a fight.

“But a big congratulations to McLaren as always.”