Lewis Hamilton reveals understeer caused by overdriving his Ferrari is how a record-extending eighth pole position escaped him at Silverstone as he lines up fifth for Sunday’s 2025 British GP.
The 40-year-old seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been on it throughout the weekend and quickly emerged as a candidate to take pole position against the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
And after surviving a scare in Q1, he swiftly picked up the pace and during his final run of qualifying, seemed as though he was going to cash in gold before a packed-out crowd of over 100,000 people.
However, a late mistake on entry to the Vale chicane appeared to cost him the rear-end stability he needed from his SF-25 as he struggled to get the power down and ultimately found himself 0.203 away from Max Verstappen, who’s Red Bull romped to the top.
“The lap was really, really nice up until that last corner,” Hamilton told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “And I just had a bit of understeer.
“I don’t know if it was the kerb that put me a little bit wide, but then I just lost, I think, over a tenth. So that would have definitely put me on the front row.”
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
Hamilton continued: “I think at the end we had low speed understeer. A bit of low-speed understeer which is something inherent with this car.
“And I think we’re overdriving to get that extra bit time and on actual pure pace, I don’t think the car is as quick naturally as the cars ahead.
“So, we’re probably having to go too far over [the limit], which then is when making the car is super peaky. So, we need a little bit more performance.”
Hamilton mirrors Charles Leclerc trait at 2025 British GP
Hamilton will now line up behind Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell as he reveals how pole escaped him at Silverstone, now planning to chase down his 10th win there on July 6 in the 2025 British GP.
On a positive note for the 105-time race winner, he did manage to get ahead of Charles Leclerc in the sister car, a feat that has been hard to come by throughout the season, as the Monegasque similarly struggled out of the Vale chicane.
He has now improved the head-to-head to 8-4, trailing by four, as he looks to figure out how to drive the SF-25 over one-lap. Interestingly, it is now the third time in four races he has got ahead of his 27-year-old teammate.
That could be due to him switching to a more similar set-up style and moving away from his traditional method of exploring around; which hasn’t worked in a ground effect era defined by very sensitive cars, leading to narrow operating windows.
“We’re not far apart, we’re not far apart,” Hamilton said, of his and Leclerc’s set-up directions, to media – including Total-Motorsport.com. “Our set-ups are different, but more using that method so it’s more in that direction.
“But he’s on a different set-up. He’s got something quite a bit different to me which I didn’t want to go to, but I was happy with my car.”
If the Brit manages to finish ahead of his teammate on Sunday, he will improve their race head-to-head to 2-9 for the campaign (4-9 including Sprint Races) as he continues to adjust to life after Mercedes.
