Ferrari Stumble at the 2025 British GP with Hamilton’s Podium Record Broken

Ferrari stumbled at the British GP, which saw Lewis Hamilton come home fourth, and Charles Leclerc finish outside of the points in fourteenth.

Hamilton’s Podium Record Comes to an End as Leclerc Finishes Outside of the Points for Ferrari at the British GP

Ferrari headed to the British GP hoping to build on the momentum created at the Austrian GP, where Charles Leclerc finished third on the podium and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth.

Since 2014, Hamilton has consistently finished on the podium, with wins in 2014-2017, 2019-2021, and 2024. He finished P2 in 2018, and crossed the line P3 in 2022 and 2023.

FP1: Hamilton Leads at Home

Ferrari looked confident in Friday’s opening practice at the British GP, with Hamilton topping the timesheets in front of his home crowd. As the session unfolded, Hamilton traded fastest times with fellow Britons Lando Norris and George Russell, before ultimately reclaiming the top spot in the final 20 minutes.

Hamilton set a 1:26.892, edging out Norris by 0.023s, a fitting start at a circuit where he has already won nine times. Leclerc, meanwhile, secured fourth, just over two-tenths behind his teammate, showing consistent pace.

READ MORE: 2025 British GP: Are Ferrari a Real Threat to McLaren at Silverstone?

FP2: A Ferrari 2-3

The Scuderia maintained their form in FP2 at Silverstone, with Hamilton and Leclerc once again firmly in the mix. This time, it was the Monegasque who led the charge for Ferrari, finishing second overall behind Norris, while Hamilton followed closely in third.

Hamilton wasted no time at the start, picking up where he left off in FP1 by going quickest on his opening flying lap. His 1:27.280 on the medium tyres set the early benchmark, despite traffic and wind making the track difficult for others.

Leclerc quietly worked his way up the order. 20 minutes in, he displaced his teammate at the top, only for Hamilton to respond moments later, setting a lap time of 1:26.592.

As the session progressed into its Qualifying simulations, both Ferraris switched to soft tyres, with Leclerc extracting more from the package. He overcame concerns over his front-left tyre to set a time just 0.222s shy of Norris’ benchmark, briefly topping the times before the McLaren driver went ahead.

Hamilton abandoned his first flying effort on the softs but recovered on his second run to climb to P2 before moving down to third.

FP3: Leclerc Tops the Timesheets

Ferrari ended FP3 at the British GP on a high, wth Leclerc topping the timesheets on Saturday morning. The Monegasque delivered a 1:25.498 on soft tyres to lead McLaren‘s Piastri by just 0.068s. Hamilton experienced a more frustrating session, finishing outside the top ten in P11 after being denied a final flying lap by a red flag.

Hamilton started strongly, going quickest early on with a 1:26.529. Leclerc took his time to build into the hour. Switching to softs, he dipped into the 1:25s to replace his teammate at the top.

The seven-time World Champion appeared on course to challenge Leclerc’s benchmark late on, lighting up the second sector and running 0.074s ahead at the split. However, a red flag caused by Ollie Bearman forced him to abandon the lap.

After the restart, Gabriel Bortoleto‘s crash brought out another stoppage, preventing Hamilton from improving further. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s pace looked promising.

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Qualifying: P5 for Hamilton, P6 for Leclerc

Q1

Qualifying at Silverstone began with Hamilton and Leclerc easing their way through a tense Q1. As the session settled, both drivers initially hovered around the cut-off zone.

Leclerc sat as low as 13th at one stage, while Hamilton was told he had no fuel for another flying lap after placing 11th.

With less than seven minutes to go, Franco Colapinto‘s spin and crash at the final corner brought out a red flag, briefly pausing the session. When the track went green again, Leclerc improved to ninth, finding enough pace to stay clear of danger, while Hamilton clung onto 14th to scrape through.

Q2

In Q2, Ferrari’s pace was akin to that seen throughout Friday and Saturday’s Free Practice sessions at the British GP.

After a quiet first run on used tyres left both drivers in the drop zone, Ferrari used fresh softs for their final efforts. Leclerc briefly took the top spot, only for Hamilton to edge him moments later with a 1:25.084, the quickest time of the session.

Q3

When the shootout for pole began, Hamilton and Leclerc found themselves up against McLaren and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. On the first runs, Piastri set the pace with a 1:24.995, while Hamilton slotted into second, 0.135s behind. Leclerc followed in fifth.

On the decisive final laps, both Ferraris pushed hard, but neither could improve significantly. Hamilton crossed the line fifth, missing out on a record-breaking eighth Silverstone pole, while Leclerc finished behind him in sixth.

British Grand Prix

P4 for Hamilton

Ferrari’s hopes of a British GP podium were dashed in the rain and drama of Silverstone, as Hamilton came home fourth, while Leclerc’s early gamble on slicks left him outside the points.

Hamilton began the afternoon strongly, making up ground, challenging Norris for position. While the Briton kept himself in contention during the opening phase, his progress was interrupted repeatedly by safety cars and virtual safety car periods, with several incidents neutralising the field.

The Ferrari driver stayed patient as conditions worsened. After Piastri, Verstappen, and Norris traded the lead up front, Hamilton worked his way into the top five, overtaking Gasly and then capitalising on errors from others as rain continued to fall.

On lap 35, as Hülkenberg claimed third place from Stroll, Hamilton followed suit, passing the Canadian to move up to fourth. He set his sights on the Sauber driver ahead, but despite his best efforts in the closing stages, could not find a way past Hülkenberg.

Hamilton finished five seconds adrift and just missed out on extending his streak of consecutive podiums at his home race.

A Disaster for Leclerc

Leclerc, by contrast, took a bold strategy call at the end of the formation lap, switching to slicks alongside Russell, Hadjar, Bortoleto and Bearman. With the rain soon returning, the gamble backfired spectacularly, forcing him to pit again and dropping him out of contention entirely.

It was one to forget for Leclerc, giving the Monegasque plenty to think about regarding his wet-weather technique.

In the end, Ferrari salvaged a decent haul of points through Hamilton’s fourth place at the British GP. However, they will leave Silverstone wondering what might have been had timing and their strategy played more in their favour.

READ MORE: Lando Norris Wins the British GP as Nico Hülkenberg Claims First Podium

Main Photo

Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ

Recording Date: 07/06/2025