Downbeat Hamilton still struggling with “unbelievably tricky” Ferrari F1 car

Lewis Hamilton has cut a forlorn figure after most Formula 1 races this year, and this again was true following the British Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver equalled his best Sunday result of the year in fourth, ending a four-race streak of being beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc, after outqualifying the Monegasque for a third time in four rounds.

However, despite looking more comfortable at the wheel of the SF-25 on a damp Silverstone track where he has won nine times – more than any other driver at any given circuit – Hamilton still was unhappy with his machinery’s behaviour.

“It’s the most difficult car I’ve driven here in a few years,” the seven-time world champion recapped after the race.

“I just struggled to keep up. The tyres dropped off massively. The car was unbelievably tricky to drive.

“Ultimately, I learned a lot today. 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 will be nice to sit down with the people that designed the car for this year, because there’s elements of this car that no one else can look to.”

Hamilton added that things did not get easier despite the track drying out at the end of the race: “Even then, you saw I went wide. So, lots of mistakes today.”

Having reached the halfway point of the 2025 season with 12 rounds in the books, the Briton described his performance so far as “not driving that terribly” because he “finished every race”, albeit none of them on the podium.

“Qualifying was looking better yesterday, and I think we just continue to build on that,” Hamilton added, having been a contender for pole position at Silverstone before a mistake in the final sector in Q3 dropped him down to fifth, two tenths off pole and one tenth away from second place.

As to what he would like to get from his Ferrari for the remainder of the season, Hamilton detailed: “Probably a consistent balance. A car that turns at a low speed. A more stable car.

“But I think we were looking great through this weekend. In practice we’re always right up there. Still we’re not able to fully extract everything in quali, and then the race is a little bit harder.”

Amid his recent struggles, Hamilton holds sixth in the world championship with 103 points – 16 fewer than Leclerc – while Ferrari currently occupies the runner-up spot in the constructors’ standings, owing to Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s low-key debut season at Mercedes and Red Bull’s second car having scored just seven points overall this year.