Everything changed, yet the standings show that nothing really did. With a bitter taste, Scuderia Ferrari closes the 2025 British Grand Prix weekend knowing that a mix of adverse weather and poor strategic decisions led to a result that did not reflect the true potential of the SF-25 Formula 1 car across the three days at Silverstone. Lewis Hamilton, the best-placed Ferrari driver, crossed the finish line in fourth position. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finished only fourteenth, a disappointing result after never truly getting into the rhythm of the race — perhaps still unsettled by his qualifying error and too eager to compensate for it during the race.
In short, the outcome is a poor one for a team that had come to Silverstone aiming to confirm its upward trajectory — a path it had seemed to embark upon in Austria, where Ferrari had taken a clear step forward. That weekend, the SF-25 began to perform at the level of McLaren, even managing to outpace Red Bull Racing and Mercedes. However, individual driver mistakes and extreme weather conditions ultimately prevented the team led by Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur from achieving a result that was not only within reach but could have given a decisive boost to Ferrari’s 2025 campaign.
What a waste…
Unfortunately, Ferrari failed to extract the full performance potential of the SF-25. In qualifying, both drivers made errors during their final flying laps, ending up only fifth and sixth on the grid — a second-row start which, in hindsight, would have made for a difficult race anyway for both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. During the Grand Prix, the changing weather conditions once again exposed the car’s limitations. Just as seen in other races this season, the SF-25 lacked consistent race pace in the most critical phases.
The two drivers delivered very different performances: on one side, Lewis Hamilton made no mistakes and managed to maximise the available package, finishing just outside the podium in fourth. On the other side, Charles Leclerc compromised his race even before it had properly started, making the wrong call by switching to slick tyres on the formation lap. From there, things only got worse, with several mistakes throughout the race — likely exacerbated by a nervous and unbalanced car that never gave him the confidence to push to the limit.
Charles Leclerc devastated on team radio
There’s no shortage of “what ifs” in the Ferrari camp — nor of those taking responsibility for what went wrong, following a similar pattern to what had happened after Saturday’s qualifying session. Among these was the all-too-familiar team radio message from Charles Leclerc, filled with disappointment during his in-lap after the chequered flag. After his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, informed him of the final result, Leclerc did not hold back in expressing his frustration after what had been a disastrous race for both him and the team. He even cast doubt on some of the technical decisions made throughout the weekend.
Charles Leclerc said: “It was really terrible. I’m sorry. I’m speechless. I don’t know if it was my fault, because of how I set up the car, or something else. But it was just so difficult…”
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