SILVERSTONE, England — July 5, 2025
Hamilton rues understeer, settling for P5
Lewis Hamilton attributes a costly understeer to missing out on pole position at the British Grand Prix.
- Hamilton will start fifth at his home race.
- He lost crucial time in the final sector due to understeer.
- Hamilton believes Ferrari’s inherent low-speed understeer is a factor.
- He acknowledges progress with recent car upgrades.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton’s quest for pole position at the British Grand Prix was derailed by understeer, meaning Hamilton will start fifth after qualifying 0.203 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
Vale corner proves costly for Hamilton
Hamilton pinpointed the Vale corner at Silverstone as the critical point where his chance for a top qualifying spot vanished. He explained that the Ferrari’s understeer in that section compromised his lap time.
“I just had understeer at Turn 16,” Hamilton said after the session. “That lost me the time that I had. It probably cost me at least second [place].”
Understeer a familiar foe
Hamilton noted that understeer is a recurring characteristic of the Ferrari, especially in slower corners. This issue becomes more pronounced when he pushes the car to its limits during qualifying.
“I think at the end we’ve got low speed understeer, which is something that’s inherent with this car,” he added. “I think we’re overdriving to get that extra bit of time.”
He elaborated that to compensate for the car’s inherent limitations, he might be pushing beyond its optimal performance window. “On actual pure pace I don’t think the car is as quick as the car is today. So we’re probably having to go a little bit too far over, which is where the car’s super peaky.”
Progress despite challenges
Despite the setback, Hamilton highlighted the progress made with the Ferrari in recent races. He credited a floor upgrade introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix as a contributing factor to the improved performance.
“We are making progress. There’s still more to make, but we obviously had the upgrade in the last race.”
Hamilton also praised the improved collaboration with his engineer, Ricardo Adami, in optimizing the car’s setup. “I’m pleased with the progress. I’m really pleased with the direction. My engineer [Ricardo Adami] and I have been really gelling a lot better in terms of how we set the car up I was much happier in the car.”
“The lap was really, really nice. Up until the last corner, there was a bit of understeer. It was the curb that put me a little wide, but then I just lost it.”
Leclerc takes the blame
Hamilton’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, will start alongside him in sixth place. Leclerc admitted fault for his own qualifying result, stating, “I need to be better.”
| Driver | Team | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:24.892 | ||
| 2. Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:24.995 | ||
| 3. Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:25.010 | ||
| 4. George Russell | Mercedes | 1:25.029 | ||
| 5. Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:25.095 | ||
| 6. Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:25.121 | ||
| 7. Andrea Kimi Antonelli* | Mercedes | 1:25.374 | ||
| 8. Oliver Bearman** | Haas | 1:25.471 | ||
| 9. Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:25.621 | ||
| 10. Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:25.785 | ||
| *Antonelli drops to 10th after a threre-place grid penalty from the Austrian GP, while Bearman** drops to 18th after a 10-place grid penalty | ||||
