Lewis Hamilton makes ‘no confidence’ admission on Ferrari SF-25

Lewis Hamilton felt hamstrung by Ferrari strategy, his errors, and the car at the British Grand Prix.

Arguing that “a lot of places” were lost through strategy, Hamilton lamented that he had “no confidence” in the “constantly snapping” Ferrari SF-25 as he missed out on a first Ferrari podium.

Lewis Hamilton suffers ‘not a good day’ at Silverstone

A chaotic, rain-affected British Grand Prix sparked an opportunity for a surprise result. Out front, the McLarens had a one-two locked down, Lando Norris ultimately taking a first home race win after Oscar Piastri’s controversial penalty. But behind, Hamilton battled Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll for the final place on the podium.

Hamilton dispatched Stroll and applied pressure on Hulkenberg, but at the final round of pit stops, where drivers swapped intermediates tyres for slicks, proved crucial. Hulkenberg stopped a lap later than Hamilton, and built a cushion which took him to a maiden F1 podium.

Hamilton’s cause was not helped by an immediate off as he left the pit lane, the record nine-time British GP winner left to rue his and Ferrari’s mistakes after being forced to settle for fourth.

“We lost a lot of places through strategy,” Hamilton told Sky F1.

“I’m not really sure how I was P4 and then I came out P8, so that made life very difficult. I got stuck behind those three cars [Pierre Gasly, Hulkenberg and Stroll] for a long period of time.

“Then I stopped early in hope for a big undercut, and geez, it was so tricky. This car does not like these conditions at all.

“So, big snap and wide in Turn 3, it lost me a ton of time. Then I had a wide at… Lot’s of mistakes. Not a good day.”

Having made reference to his Ferrari’s distain for the treacherous conditions at Silverstone, Hamilton was asked to offer an insight into the challenge of such a situation.

“It’s the worst feeling,” he said, “it’s not a great feeling.

“It’s when you just can’t sit back and just be confident that you can lean on the rear end. When it’s constantly snapping, you just have no confidence.

“So the ultimate goal is to try and build up confidence in the car and then get faster and faster. But every time, it’s like building a wall and then knocking it down, building a wall, knocking it down. So when you can’t build that confidence, then you’re not really going anywhere. You’re kind of in no man’s land.

“So, that’s kind of how it felt for most of the race.”

More British Grand Prix reaction from PlanetF1.com

👉 British GP Cooldown Lap: Hulkenberg shocks in Lando Norris win

👉 British GP conclusions: Verstappen’s Red Bull exit terms, McLaren’s big test, Hulkenberg’s reward

Hamilton’s struggles paled in comparison to the woes of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who crossed the line 14th following a performance which will not go down as one of his best.

And Hamilton was convinced after Silverstone that certain elements of the SF-25 cannot roll over into Ferrari’s creation for F1 2026, when new chassis and engine regulations come into effect.

“It was the most difficult car I’ve driven here,” Hamilton told the media, including PlanetF1.com.

“It’s only my second time driving in the wet in this car, and 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, I mean, for me, I might have to sit down with the people that are designing the car for next year, because there’s elements of this car that cannot go into the following year.”

Hamilton departs Silverstone sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, his deficit to Leclerc down to 16 points.

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