Lewis Hamilton had his remarkable run of Silverstone podiums come to an abrupt end at the 2025 British Grand Prix, with the British driver openly admitting he was left baffled by the behaviour of his Ferrari car in challenging wet conditions.
After finishing fourth and watching his home podium streak, which began in 2014, finally snap, Hamilton did not hide his disappointment, describing the 2025 Ferrari as the toughest car he has ever handled at Silverstone.
From the moment the lights went out, it was clear that Hamilton’s afternoon would be anything but straightforward. While the British crowd had hoped for another home heroics story, the reality on track quickly became a battle for survival as changing weather and tyre choices turned the race into a strategic puzzle.
Hamilton found himself embroiled in the podium hunt, shadowing Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber in the final phase of the Grand Prix, but persistent tyre degradation and a difficult switch to slicks saw him lose ground as the laps ticked down.
“It was the most difficult car I’ve driven here in these conditions,” Hamilton told the media, including Total-Motorsport.com, after the 2025 British GP. “Yeah, difficult day I think for everybody. Not the result that I was hoping for, but got some points still.”
Ferrari’s Wet-Weather Woes Exposed
Hamilton ultimately finished five seconds adrift of Hulkenberg in third, equalling his best result in a Grand Prix for Ferrari but far short of the heights he and his new team aspire to.
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While his race may have been a struggle, it still went better than for his teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished a distant 14th after a series of missteps, including an ill-timed tyre change before the start and a spin late in the race that dropped him out of the points.
For Hamilton, the British Grand Prix highlighted a fundamental issue with the Ferrari SF-25’s handling in low-grip situations.
“The car was unbelievably tricky to drive,” Hamilton explained. “I think, ultimately, I learned a lot today, there’s lots to take from the day. It’s only my second time driving in the wet in this car. I can’t even express to you how hard it is.
“It’s not a car that likes those conditions. But having lots of data to take from this, for me it’s to sit down with the people that are designing the car for next year. Because there’s elements of this car that can go into the following year.”
The seven-time world champion also confirmed the car remained difficult even as conditions improved: “Not particularly. A little bit more when it was fully dry at the end. But even then you saw I went wide and then it snapped and spun at Turn 11. Lots of mistakes today.”
Ferrari’s weekend at Silverstone became a tale of missed opportunities and hard lessons. Leclerc’s early pit stop gambit backfired, costing him positions and rhythm, while Hamilton’s struggle to extract confidence from the SF-25 – particularly in wet-to-dry phases – underscored the challenges facing the Maranello squad as the season heads into its second half.
The data collected at Silverstone may yet prove valuable for Ferrari’s development direction. Hamilton was quick to stress the need to work closely with the team’s technical department in Maranello, highlighting areas for improvement for 2026. Both he and the team will be eager to ensure the difficulties encountered at Silverstone are not repeated when similar conditions arise later in the year.
As the Formula 1 paddock moves on from a dramatic and unpredictable British Grand Prix, Hamilton and Ferrari are left searching for solutions, hoping that hard lessons learned at home will lay the groundwork for a return to form on the circuits to come.
