Following Sunday`s British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton openly expressed his frustration regarding the condition of his car and tactical decisions made by his team, which brought an end to his impressive sequence of podium finishes at Silverstone.
Hamilton had secured a top-three spot in his twelve previous races at Silverstone. However, in the 2025 event, he had to settle for a disappointing fourth place, finishing behind Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and a remarkably placed Nico Hulkenberg, who achieved his first-ever podium despite starting 19th on the grid.
The seven-time world champion`s race was hampered by poor strategic choices throughout the event, which was affected by rain and multiple Safety Car periods. Additionally, he struggled to manage a car he described as `snappy` and in which he felt he lacked confidence.
“The car was genuinely very difficult to control,” he stated.
“It simply lacks stability. When you approach a corner, it snaps repeatedly, just snapping, snapping, snapping. It refuses to stay settled, making it incredibly challenging. And at low speeds, it`s reluctant to turn. The balance is really frustrating.”
Hamilton`s difficulties led to him going off track on several occasions, preventing him from closing the gap to Hulkenberg in the final laps.
“It`s the worst sensation,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“When it`s constantly twitching, you have absolutely no confidence. The primary objective is to gradually build confidence in the car and increase speed over time.”
“It feels like constructing a wall only to have it immediately torn down. When you can`t build that confidence, you`re not really making progress.”
“You feel like you`re in limbo. That`s how I felt for the majority of the race.”
`Strategy Cost Us Time and Positions`
Hamilton`s struggles with the car were made worse by several strategy calls that resulted in him losing track position.
When rain began after 11 laps, Hamilton`s first pit stop caused him to drop from fourth to eighth place. He was then delayed for several laps behind Esteban Ocon`s Haas and subsequently Pierre Gasly`s Alpine.
After Hamilton overtook Gasly on lap 29 and Lance Stroll on lap 35, the home crowd anticipated him comfortably catching Hulkenberg for third. However, his team pitted him for slick tyres too early, and he struggled immediately after exiting the pit lane.
Hamilton lost approximately five seconds through the first two corners following the stop, while Hulkenberg extended his lead on intermediate tyres before pitting a lap later, ultimately denying Hamilton his 13th home podium finish.
“We lost time and numerous positions because of strategy,” Hamilton commented.
“I`m not entirely sure how I went from P4 to coming out P8. That created significant difficulties. I got held up behind three cars for a considerable period.”
“Then I stopped early hoping for a substantial undercut, and wow, it was incredibly tricky. This car truly doesn`t perform well in these conditions at all.”
“A big snap sent me wide at Turn Three, and that cost me a huge amount of time. There were many errors. It wasn`t a good day.”
`What We Have Is Extremely Difficult to Drive`
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur later disclosed that some decisions were made `blindly` because their GPS system failed after 10 laps, leaving them unaware of Hamilton`s exact position on track. While Vasseur leads Ferrari, this likely refers to communication issues or tactical reasoning related to the race circumstances impacting various teams, including Hamilton`s.
This contributed to a frustrating conclusion to a weekend that had initially shown promise, with Hamilton topping the timesheet in first practice and appearing to be a genuine contender against the McLarens.
“I believe the positive takeaway from this weekend is that in practice, I was right there. I felt much happier with the car`s balance in the dry conditions. And then in qualifying, we were considerably stronger,” he added.
“I think there are many positives, and also, from a race like this, while it wasn`t great, you can gather a lot of information.”
“I feel like I now know how to explain to the team what I don`t want included in next year`s car design.”
“What we currently have makes it exceedingly difficult to drive, particularly in these variable conditions.”
F1 is set for a brief break before the season resumes at the Belgian Grand Prix, featuring the Sprint format, live on Sky Sports F1 from July 25-27.
Gilbert Pendleton 
Wesley Dunham