Lewis Hamilton fears Ferrari’s speed deficit at Silverstone: “The gap could be twice as big”. Lewis Hamilton admits Ferrari's straight-line speed deficit could be even more costly at Silverstone.

If Silverstone is one of Formula 1’s most historic venues, then Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the greatest names ever associated with the iconic British circuit. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has built an extraordinary legacy at his home race, claiming a record nine victories at Silverstone — more wins than any driver has ever achieved at a single Formula 1 circuit. His remarkable record also includes seven pole positions and 15 podium finishes.

Even during the difficult 2025 campaign, Lewis Hamilton still managed to equal his best result of the season at Silverstone by finishing fourth, behind the two McLarens and Nico Hülkenberg. This year, however, the Ferrari driver arrives at his home Grand Prix with far greater confidence, both in the competitiveness of the SF-26 and in his position within the team.

Still, there is plenty to prove after a disappointing weekend in Austria. Ferrari will be hoping to rediscover the form it displayed in Barcelona, on a circuit that combines characteristics of both the Red Bull Ring and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton, however, believes Silverstone has more in common with the Austrian venue, particularly when it comes to Ferrari’s biggest weakness.

Lewis Hamilton expects a difficult weekend

“We had some great performances before Austria, but during the race we were losing four tenths of a second per lap on the straights, and then it becomes very difficult to recover that deficit through the corners. I think we have a great car. Basically, we have this problem and we’ll keep working to get the maximum out of what we have, trying to achieve the best possible results and score as many points as we can until we’re able to close that gap,” Hamilton explained during Thursday’s FIA press conference.

“It’s not that I don’t have confidence going into this weekend, but there are some very long straights here. I believe this will be an unprecedented weekend in terms of power delivery. In the drivers’ chat, we were all talking about how much we’ll be missing power at this circuit as well. Even in terms of battery management, for most of the lap the battery will be switched off while recovering energy. That could be a problem for us because the gap could be twice as big as it normally is.”

The seven-time world champion also revealed that Ferrari’s engineers have been eager to understand why he has traditionally been so successful at Silverstone.

“My engineers have asked me many times what I do with the car here. I hope I’ve pointed them in the right direction. Tomorrow we’ll only have one free practice session, so it will definitely be a challenge from start to finish.”

“I’m not thinking too much about a tenth victory here. I’ll simply try to execute everything as well as possible throughout the weekend while taking in all the incredible energy the fans always give us here. Hopefully, racing at home, the supporters will help me close the gap to the cars ahead,” the Ferrari driver concluded.

“This is my 20th year racing here, so every time I come back it’s an incredible feeling. I’ve heard we’ll probably have the biggest crowd we’ve ever had, and it’s a real privilege for us British drivers to be here representing our country.”