Inside Ferrari’s Silverstone struggles: strategy missteps and SF-25’s wet weakness

The only marginally positive takeaway for Ferrari from the 2025 British Grand Prix held at the historic Silverstone Circuit was that the team managed to slightly strengthen its position in second place in the current Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship standings. However, in all other respects, the overall performance of the Maranello-based team was deeply disappointing. Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc effectively removed himself from contention early in the race by choosing to switch to slick tyres at the end of the formation lap, a move that proved detrimental in the prevailing track conditions. Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was engaged in the battle for a podium finish but encountered considerable difficulty in controlling the Ferrari SF-25, a challenge that led him to make multiple costly errors during the course of the Grand Prix.

What unfolded at Silverstone for Ferrari felt like a symbolic downpour of acid rain, washing away all realistic hopes of being a protagonist on Sunday. What had appeared to be a promising opportunity turned into a frustrating afternoon, with the race severely testing the composure and resilience of both drivers and the strategic department of the Italian outfit.

At the beginning of the formation lap, which was completed at low speed behind the Safety Car, all Formula 1 cars took to the track equipped with intermediate wet-weather tyres. At that specific moment, certain portions of the circuit—particularly in the first and second sectors—had begun to dry and appeared potentially suitable for slick, dry-weather tyres. Both Charles Leclerc and British driver George Russell quickly radioed their respective teams, requesting to switch to slick compounds. Ferrari responded by preparing for a pit stop, and Charles Leclerc proceeded to enter the long access road leading into the pit lane. However, by taking this route, the Monegasque bypassed the ‘Vale’ and ‘Club’ corners—sections of the circuit that, at that stage of the race, were the most waterlogged and treacherous areas on the entire track.

Team principal Frédéric Vasseur explained after the conclusion of the race that the decision to switch tyres had been initiated by the driver himself, but he acknowledged that he could have stepped in and overridden the call. The French manager admitted that these are complex and delicate situations, especially because the driver is the one on the circuit with real-time feedback, but in this particular case the reconnaissance lap was completed extremely slowly due to the Safety Car, making it even more challenging to accurately assess grip levels. According to Frédéric Vasseur, Charles Leclerc likely realized within just a few corners that the decision he had made was not the correct one. By the ninth lap of the race, Charles Leclerc had already fallen 32 seconds behind the race leader Oscar Piastri, with his race strategy irreparably compromised.

Charles Leclerc later conceded that he had taken a gamble and lost, although he also attempted to divert attention toward a broader, structural problem: the general lack of performance from the Ferrari SF-25 throughout the entire Grand Prix weekend. The Monegasque driver stated that it had been his own choice and that he was not pleased with the decision he had made. He had expected the track surface to dry much more quickly than it actually did. However, the 27-year-old driver also emphasized that the main issue during the race was not the tyre strategy but rather the lack of race pace from the SF-25. Charles stressed that Ferrari simply went nowhere during the entirety of the race, and when he said “nowhere,” he meant it quite literally in terms of competitiveness and forward progression.

Two key evaluations emerge from this performance. The first is that Charles Leclerc’s decision to take a bold strategic risk was likely influenced by his starting position. A minor but critical mistake made during Saturday’s qualifying session cost him approximately three or four places on the starting grid. That small error the day before directly triggered a much larger and more consequential error on race day. Taking a bold gamble might have reignited Charles Leclerc’s ambitions for the race, but the inherent risk associated with such a move ultimately destroyed his Grand Prix.

The second point relates to the overall performance capability of the Ferrari SF-25. While it is true that the car struggled significantly more in wet conditions than it had in the dry, it is also likely that Charles Leclerc’s two off-track excursions caused additional damage to the floor of his car. The data showed a performance gap of eight-tenths of a second between his fastest lap and the fastest lap set by his teammate Lewis Hamilton. As the race demonstrated in the case of Max Verstappen as well, ending up stuck in the midfield can severely complicate race management and overtaking opportunities.

Prior to the start of the race, there was a degree of cautious optimism within the Ferrari garage regarding the potential of the SF-25 in rainy conditions. The aerodynamic setup chosen during Saturday’s qualifying session was not one with minimal downforce. Frédéric Vasseur later clarified the aerodynamic comparison, explaining that Ferrari had opted for considerably more aerodynamic load than Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. As a result, the SF-25 was much quicker than Verstappen’s RB21 on Sunday. However, Ferrari still had less aerodynamic load compared to both McLaren drivers—Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Fred Vasseur underlined that Charles Leclerc’s race was essentially over after just one lap, and once they were trapped in dirty air behind other cars, overtaking became increasingly difficult. He added that strategic decisions played a major role in the outcome of the race and concluded that everyone likely had regrets, with the exceptions of Lando Norris and Nico Hülkenberg, who executed flawless races.

There was also considerable disappointment for Lewis Hamilton. With approximately 15 laps remaining, what could have been his first podium finish in a red car since joining Ferrari at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season seemed a near certainty. Unlike Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton followed a more linear and conventional race strategy, which allowed him to rise steadily through the field during the second half of the Grand Prix. He overtook Canadian driver Lance Stroll to secure fourth position and quickly closed in on Nico Hülkenberg, getting within close striking distance. At that stage, a place on the podium seemed entirely within reach, but the Sauber proved to be far more resistant and difficult to pass than initially expected.

Lewis Hamilton’s final opportunity to claim third place came during the tyre change from intermediate wet tyres to slick dry-weather tyres, ten laps from the end of the race. He made his pit stop one lap earlier than Nico Hülkenberg, but during the crucial outlap he made two driver errors that proved costly, causing him to drop seven seconds behind the Sauber.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton described the SF-25 as the most difficult car he had ever driven around the Silverstone Circuit under the challenging wet conditions experienced on Sunday. He noted that it was only his second time driving this particular car in wet conditions, and he struggled to find words to express how difficult it was to handle. The Briton emphasized that the SF-25 did not perform well under these circumstances and was not a car that responded positively to such weather.

During the Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton also lost GPS connectivity with the Ferrari pit wall, a technical problem that added an extra layer of complication for the Maranello-based engineers. However, this issue did not have a direct impact on the on-track performance of the car. Nonetheless, a lingering question remains. Lewis Hamilton recorded the third-fastest lap of the race, which confirmed that, in the final stages, he had a pace advantage of over one second per lap compared to Nico Hülkenberg. The Ferrari SF-25 may still be a step behind the McLaren MCL39 in terms of overall performance, but it is also difficult to argue that the Sauber C45 driven by Nico Hülkenberg is anywhere close to the same performance level as the ‘papaya’ cars from Woking.