Lewis Hamilton secured a third-place finish at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the Ferrari SF-26. It was a solid result for the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, especially at his home race, but one that left the feeling that even more had been possible. His race was heavily affected by an imperfect setup that generated significant understeer throughout the Grand Prix, limiting his ability to attack consistently over a race distance.
The British driver struggled compared to Charles Leclerc and, although he still managed to finish ahead of several key rivals, he had the potential to achieve an even stronger result under different circumstances. Even so, thanks to the valuable points gained on championship leader Kimi Antonelli, the fight for the 2026 Formula 1 world championship remains completely open. With several races still to come, every point could prove decisive in determining the outcome of the title battle, making Hamilton’s podium finish an important result despite the frustrations experienced during the race.
Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton could have achieved more from his home weekend
Lewis Hamilton finished third in the British Grand Prix, standing on the podium in front of his home crowd at Silverstone. It was undoubtedly a strong result that many drivers would gladly accept, but one that ultimately fell short of fully satisfying the British driver. Expectations had grown considerably after the encouraging pace Ferrari had shown throughout the weekend, and the Briton himself believed there was genuine potential to fight for an even better finishing position.
Over the past several Grands Prix, Lewis Hamilton has increasingly taken on a leading role within Ferrari. His growing influence inside the Maranello team has become more and more evident, with the British driver helping to guide development and contributing valuable experience gathered over nearly two decades in Formula 1. It is a situation that Hamilton had been aiming for ever since last season, when the seven-time world champion had already made it clear how he wanted to approach this new chapter of his career.
It is therefore no coincidence that in recent races Lewis Hamilton has openly thanked Frederic Vasseur and the Maranello engineers for listening carefully to his feedback and for following many of his technical suggestions. The collaboration between driver and team has gradually become stronger, allowing Ferrari to make consistent progress throughout the current campaign.
The Silverstone weekend had started in almost perfect fashion. During the opening practice session, the number 44 Ferrari immediately displayed excellent pace, giving Hamilton plenty of confidence from the very beginning of the weekend. That speed carried into qualifying, where he secured a well-deserved pole position by delivering an outstanding lap ahead of the entire field.
During the Sprint race, Lewis Hamilton drove aggressively but intelligently, extracting everything possible from the SF-26 while defending against an extremely fast Kimi Antonelli. Managing to keep the young Mercedes driver behind required complete commitment, demonstrating both the Italian side’s competitiveness and Lewis Hamilton’s experience under pressure.
The second qualifying session of the weekend, however, painted a very different picture. From Q2 onwards, the seven-time world champion gradually lost confidence in the balance of the car. Instead of building momentum throughout qualifying, the British driver found himself struggling to fully trust the front end of the Ferrari as the session progressed.
He ultimately qualified third, behind Charles Leclerc, trailing his Ferrari teammate by almost two tenths of a second. While third on the grid still represented a competitive starting position, the gap highlighted that something had changed compared to the earlier sessions of the weekend.
Sunday’s race confirmed those concerns. Penalty aside, Lewis Hamilton never managed to consistently match Charles Leclerc’s pace during the Grand Prix and repeatedly struggled with the handling characteristics of the SF-26. The Ferrari was simply not configured in a way that suited Lewis Hamilton’s driving style, preventing him from extracting its maximum performance over a full race distance. Despite his immense experience and ability to adapt, there are limits to what even a driver of the Briton’s calibre can compensate for when the balance of the car is not exactly where he wants it.
F1, Silverstone GP: Lewis Hamilton tried to reduce understeer but without success
Following the technical analysis of Saturday’s qualifying session at Silverstone, it had already become clear that Lewis Hamilton had made several setup adjustments to the Ferrari SF-26 after the Sprint race. The objective behind those changes was relatively straightforward. Ferrari wanted to maximise the car’s performance over an entire Grand Prix distance, even if that meant sacrificing a small amount of outright pace during a single qualifying lap.
The decision was based largely on the encouraging race pace demonstrated during the Sprint. The team believed there was enough performance available over longer runs to justify making adjustments that would improve tyre management and consistency throughout Sunday’s race.
The primary goal was to reduce the oversteer that had gradually become more evident as the laps accumulated during the 100-kilometre Sprint race. Excessive rear instability can become increasingly difficult to manage over a long stint, particularly on a demanding circuit like Silverstone, where high-speed corners place enormous stress on both the tyres and the aerodynamic balance of the car.
Did the setup changes introduced by the Maranello engineers produce the desired effect? According to the available data, unfortunately they did not. Instead of simply reducing oversteer while maintaining the strengths of the package, the modifications effectively shifted the balance too far in the opposite direction. Rather than producing a more neutral handling balance, they completely reversed the characteristics of the SF-26, creating the opposite problem. The rear end became extremely secure and stable, but that additional rear stability came at the expense of front-end responsiveness.
From the third lap onwards, Lewis Hamilton began suffering from a clear lack of front-end rotation. The Ferrari simply refused to rotate into the apex as naturally as it had earlier in the weekend, forcing the British driver to wait longer before returning to the throttle.
Charles Leclerc also experienced the same fundamental issue, although to a noticeably smaller extent. The Monegasque driver was still able to manage the balance more effectively, allowing him to maintain a stronger overall pace throughout the race despite encountering similar handling limitations.
The onboard cameras clearly illustrated what was happening. Both Ferrari drivers were forced to apply significantly more steering lock than they had needed the previous day, an obvious indication that the front tyres were struggling to generate sufficient grip through the middle phase of the corners. While both drivers adapted as best they could, the increased steering input demonstrated that the setup changes had introduced a compromise that neither driver ideally wanted.
On a technical circuit like Silverstone, where smooth direction changes and precise front-end response are essential for producing competitive lap times, even relatively small balance issues can quickly translate into several tenths of a second over the course of a lap. Across an entire Grand Prix, those small losses inevitably accumulate.
A missed opportunity to close the gap to Kimi Antonelli
From that point onward, Ferrari’s pit wall attempted to minimise the issue using the limited adjustment tools available during the race itself. Once the Grand Prix is underway, teams have very few opportunities to substantially alter the balance of the car, meaning that drivers and engineers must work together to find alternative solutions.
Race engineer Carlo Santi suggested adjusting the differential locking, reducing its intervention during two different phases of cornering in an attempt to help the Ferrari rotate more naturally through slower and medium-speed corners. These electronic adjustments can sometimes provide drivers with additional confidence, although they cannot completely eliminate a mechanical balance issue.
However, Ferrari chose not to make any front wing angle adjustments during the pit stop. Altering the front wing would have shifted more aerodynamic load towards the front axle, potentially reducing the understeer, but it also carried the risk of upsetting the overall balance of the SF-26 during the remainder of the race. The team therefore preferred to preserve the existing aerodynamic balance while changing tyres rather than introducing another variable.
Although the Italian side still delivered an excellent overall performance by beating McLaren, Red Bull and George Russell’s Mercedes on track, it remains clear that Lewis Hamilton was unable to exploit the full potential of his SF-26 throughout the race.
The central question therefore remains what exactly changed during the second half of the Silverstone weekend. The difference between the two Ferrari drivers became increasingly evident. While Charles Leclerc managed to make another step forward as the weekend progressed, Lewis Hamilton effectively took half a step backwards in overall competitiveness, at least according to the available performance data.
That contrast suggests the issue was not necessarily related to the overall speed of the Ferrari package itself, but rather to how the individual setup choices affected each driver’s confidence and ability to maximise the car’s performance.
Even so, Lewis Hamilton still managed to reduce the gap to Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli, whose race was compromised by an unexpected and relatively minor reliability issue that appeared set to hand second place to the number 44 Ferrari.
The Briton also lost three valuable championship points because of the timing of the Safety Car pit stop sequence. Those additional points would have reduced the standings deficit even further and made an already fascinating championship battle even tighter heading into the next round.
Despite everything that happened at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton now trails Kimi Antonelli by just 32 points in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship. With many races still remaining in the 2026 season and Ferrari continuing to show encouraging signs of progress, the title fight remains very much alive. Silverstone therefore represented a weekend of mixed emotions for Lewis Hamilton. A podium finish at his home Grand Prix was certainly an important achievement and another indication that Ferrari is firmly established among the leading contenders.
At the same time, the underlying pace shown earlier in the weekend leaves the impression that an even stronger result had been within reach. If Ferrari can better understand the setup direction that limited Hamilton during Sunday’s race while maintaining the speed already demonstrated by Charles Leclerc, the Italian team could become an even more formidable force as the championship battle enters its decisive phase.
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