Scuderia Ferrari continues to repeat costly and avoidable mistakes. In the highly competitive world of Formula 1 racing, this recurring issue was unfortunately evident once again during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where the Italian team failed to capitalize on the promising signs that had emerged during the initial free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Despite encouraging feedback from the drivers and positive performance indications across the early part of the weekend, everything collapsed under the intense pressure of race day. A series of strategic misjudgments, multiple driving errors behind the wheel from both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and an overall lack of clarity in understanding the decisive moments of the race led to a disappointing performance. This particular chapter in Ferrari’s season must now be closed swiftly as the Maranello-based team turns its attention to the upcoming round at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
During the initial stint of the race, the tactical decisions made by the Ferrari pit wall regarding Charles Leclerc and by the Mercedes team for George Russell turned out to be far from effective. The unusually low track surface temperatures recorded at Silverstone, combined with the interventions of two separate Safety Car deployments, meant that the track surface never dried completely or reached optimal grip levels. On top of that, the premature arrival of another rain shower during the middle phase of the Grand Prix effectively neutralized any serious attempt at a comeback in the latter part of the race. It was a chaotic, unpredictable, and weather-affected race—one that tested the adaptability and precision of every team on the grid.
In contrast to the approach taken by his Maranello teammate, seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton chose a race strategy that was far more aligned with the actual conditions of the Silverstone circuit. He avoided being influenced by impulsive decisions that could have triggered serious mistakes. Despite this calculated approach, Lewis Hamilton still faced significant difficulty in managing tyre temperatures during key phases of the race. In a direct performance comparison, the Briton was losing an average of three seconds per lap to Oscar Piastri, with an even more concerning time deficit of approximately seven seconds across just four laps during the closing laps of the first stint.
Such a large time loss was excessive, especially considering that Lewis Hamilton had aspirations of competing among the leading positions in the opening phase of the British Grand Prix. Meanwhile, at the front of the field, the two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were able to extract the maximum from the highly efficient McLaren MCL39. They successfully overtook Max Verstappen and took control of the race. The Red Bull team, on the other hand, encountered significant tyre degradation issues. The lower downforce level of the Red Bull RB21 forced reigning world champion Max Verstappen to drive with higher slip angles, which, over the course of the stint, compromised tyre grip and overall performance in the closing laps.
The second half of the British Grand Prix, a phase of the race that was largely controlled by the presence of the Safety Car, served to further highlight the ongoing limitations of the Ferrari SF-25. Both of the Scuderia Ferrari drivers expressed frustration over team radio, pointing out the persistent difficulties in keeping both the tyres and the rear brakes within the proper temperature operating window. In response, their respective race engineers, Bryan Bozzi and Riccardo Adami, provided instructions to adjust various car settings using the steering wheel, in an attempt to recover mechanical grip and improve stability. However, despite these corrective measures, the results proved extremely disappointing and had minimal impact on the car’s handling. Lewis Hamilton also addressed similar issues during his post-race debrief, providing additional insight into the challenge.
The core issue became especially evident in the slower corners, where the SF-25 lacked the necessary mechanical grip to maintain competitive speed. Even with changes to the setup and attempts to adapt during the race, the overall race pace of Ferrari’s car remained insufficient. On the intermediate tyre compound, both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were losing between two and three seconds per lap in comparison to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. It was only in the final laps, once the track dried and Lewis Hamilton had clean air in front of him, that the British driver was able to post lap times close to those of the leaders. Charles Leclerc, however, remained stuck in traffic and was the slowest among the top-tier teams in those final stages.
Meanwhile, McLaren kept raising the bar with a car that managed to minimize aerodynamic stall even in damp and low-grip conditions. The McLaren MCL39 carried significantly more speed into corners, thanks to its efficient and well-balanced downforce levels. The team’s exceptional ability to manage airflow around the bodywork of the MCL39 currently sets the benchmark across the entire Formula 1 grid, particularly when it comes to aerodynamic efficiency and adaptability.
In the closing part of the race, as the Silverstone circuit gradually dried and the teams switched to slick tyres, reigning world champion Max Verstappen returned to the spotlight. The Dutch driver delivered lap times consistent with a podium finish—second only to the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. However, a mistake made during the restart following the second Safety Car, possibly a consequence of mounting frustration from an earlier incident with Oscar Piastri, relegated Max Verstappen to the midfield traffic and prevented him from fully unlocking the performance potential of his Red Bull RB21.
Did Lewis Hamilton pick the optimal moment to switch to the Soft compound tyres? In hindsight, perhaps it would have been wiser to wait one additional lap. His inability to bring the Soft tyres quickly into their correct temperature window led to two off-track excursions that proved decisive. These mistakes handed Nico Hülkenberg the advantage he needed. The German driver delivered a flawless performance, maintaining enough of a gap to fend off Lewis Hamilton’s late charge and achieving an outstanding and historic third-place finish—having started the race all the way down in nineteenth position on the grid.
Ferrari therefore shows technical progress, but remains vulnerable in wet and low-grip conditions. Despite the underwhelming race results achieved by both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the technical development path of the Ferrari SF-25 shows some clear signs of improvement. The newly introduced floor design has led to a tangible increase in aerodynamic downforce, as confirmed by both data and track performance over the past two Formula 1 Grands Prix. However, the weekend at Silverstone also exposed a recurring and structural issue in the design of the Italian car: the vehicle continues to struggle in low-grip scenarios, consistently failing to strike a fast and stable balance between thermal and mechanical grip.
The engineering department of Scuderia Ferrari must now carry out an in-depth analysis of the data gathered during the British Grand Prix weekend. The Maranello team’s primary objective will be to fully understand and isolate the performance limitations that became evident in the varying conditions of Silverstone. A new suspension system, which is already finalized and ready for implementation for over a month, is scheduled for testing during a private session at the Mugello circuit on July 16. The performance potential of the Ferrari SF-25 exists, but if the Italian team truly intends to challenge McLaren and Red Bull Racing at the front of the field, a decisive and substantial step forward is still urgently required.
—— see video above —-
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