Gary Anderson left confused by Lewis Hamilton’s unexpected words about Ferrari teammate | F1 Silverstone GP. Former F1 engineer Gary Anderson reacts to Lewis Hamilton’s surprising comments about Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton Hopes for Silverstone Surge as He Seeks Ferrari Breakthrough at Home Grand Prix

Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is aiming to harness the power of his loyal home crowd and his unparalleled track record at Silverstone to inject momentum into what has so far been a challenging debut season with Scuderia Ferrari. The British Grand Prix represents not only a homecoming but also a critical opportunity for the 40-year-old driver to reassert himself near the front of the grid.

Lewis Hamilton is chasing what would be an unprecedented tenth career victory at the historic Silverstone Circuit, a feat no other Formula 1 driver has ever achieved at a single venue. The iconic Northamptonshire track has long been one of Hamilton’s strongest circuits, and he will be hoping to reignite that form as Ferrari continues its pursuit of performance against front-runners like McLaren and Red Bull Racing.

However, the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship season has been far from smooth for Hamilton. He arrived at Silverstone following a difficult run of races that included a new personal record for the longest stretch without a podium finish, a streak that began after the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix and continued through the Austrian Grand Prix. That race marked a frustrating milestone, as it extended his podium drought further into his first season with the Maranello-based team.

Despite these struggles, there are signs of progress. At the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton secured a fourth-place finish, matching his best result so far in Ferrari colours. Yet, even with that relative improvement, Scuderia Ferrari still appears to be trailing behind the rapidly advancing McLaren F1 Team, which has dominated much of the 2025 campaign. After the Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton commented that he still lacked overall pace, a concern that has become increasingly consistent in recent weeks.

Part of the ongoing challenge for Hamilton has been adapting to the unique characteristics of the SF-25, Ferrari’s current Formula 1 challenger. Throughout the season, the British driver has persistently called for aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades to help bring the car in line with his driving preferences. With Ferrari continuing its development race, Hamilton will be hoping that the British Grand Prix weekend marks a turning point, both for the team’s technical package and for his personal adaptation to the car.

One of the talking points heading into the weekend was Hamilton’s observation about teammate Charles Leclerc’s driving style. According to Hamilton, Charles Leclerc prefers an understeering car—an assessment that caught the attention of former Formula 1 technical director and engineer Gary Anderson. The former Jordan Grand Prix engineer described Hamilton’s comments as “unusual,” noting that Charles Leclerc is typically known for favouring a car with pronounced oversteer characteristics.

So far this season, Charles Leclerc has had the upper hand within the Ferrari garage, having secured all of the team’s podium finishes in 2025. The two drivers have distinctly different styles behind the wheel of the SF-25, with Hamilton remarking that Leclerc often drives with significant rear-end instability—what he termed “enormous oversteer.” However, during the British Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton stated that his teammate seemed to favour an understeering balance, which struck Anderson as a contradiction to Charles Leclerc’s known setup preferences.

While analysing Free Practice 1 at Silverstone for The Race, Gary Anderson noted that Lewis Hamilton appeared to be wrestling with understeer, particularly on corner entry. According to Anderson, Hamilton never quite found a way to resolve the issue over the course of the session. Reflecting on Hamilton’s earlier comments, Anderson speculated that perhaps the British driver was dealing with a level of rear instability that affected his confidence on turn-in—leading him to adopt a more conservative approach on corner entry, which in turn created understeer.

Anderson pointed out that Hamilton has a very specific and refined driving style and typically works diligently to make the car suit his preferences. However, he suggested that the 40-year-old Briton has been forced to experiment with various directions in setup this season, none of which have delivered consistent results so far. Despite these difficulties, Anderson acknowledged that Hamilton still showed strong pace in FP1 at Silverstone, topping the timing sheets for the first time in his Ferrari tenure.

He also emphasised that the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history—such as Michael Schumacher and others—often managed to extract the maximum from imperfect machinery on race day. He believes Lewis Hamilton possesses the same capability, but noted that sometimes the car simply refuses to respond to the qualities that make Hamilton so effective behind the wheel.

As speculation grows about whether Lewis Hamilton is beginning to turn a corner with Ferrari, early signs from the British Grand Prix weekend have been promising. The British driver led the FP1 timesheets ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri, while Charles Leclerc slotted into fourth place. The SF-25 appeared to have the pace to match the front-running McLaren MCL39 in key sectors, a marked improvement compared to recent weekends.

That level of competitiveness continued into Free Practice 2, where Lewis Hamilton posted the third-fastest time of the session, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris remained the pace-setter, going two-tenths of a second quicker, but Ferrari’s pace was close enough to suggest a genuine challenge could be mounted during qualifying and the race itself.

Lewis Hamilton’s demeanour in the garage and around the paddock hinted at growing confidence and perhaps even a long-awaited breakthrough with Ferrari. Following the Austrian Grand Prix, the British driver commented that he felt “slightly more connected” with the SF-25, and those positive sensations appeared to carry over into Silverstone. Topping a practice session for the first time in his Ferrari career marked an encouraging step forward in his adaptation process.

However, not all concerns have been alleviated. Mercedes driver George Russell reportedly expressed concern over Hamilton’s tyre wear during practice sessions at Silverstone, noting that it could become a significant factor over the course of the weekend. If Ferrari is unable to resolve that degradation issue, it could prove costly in the latter stages of the Grand Prix—particularly given the abrasive nature of the Silverstone circuit and the high-speed demands it places on tyre performance.

As the race weekend progresses, all eyes will be on whether Lewis Hamilton can convert encouraging practice pace into a strong qualifying result and a return to the podium. If he succeeds, it could mark a turning point in his debut campaign with Ferrari and set the tone for a more competitive second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season.