Lewis Hamilton: “Understeer at the end cost me a lot. I will go on the attack in the race” | British GP. Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth for the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

Just eight days ago, a fifth-place grid slot would have represented the best Saturday of Lewis Hamilton’s short journey so far with Scuderia Ferrari. However, with the recent performance upgrades finally implemented on the Ferrari SF-25, a top-five finish now feels like an underachievement. On his home circuit at Silverstone, the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion walked away from qualifying with a sense of frustration and missed opportunity.

Ferrari demonstrated that it has what it takes to challenge McLaren on equal terms. Until the final sector of his last flying lap in Q3, Lewis Hamilton had been posting split times good enough for a front-row start. However, a moment of understeer in the closing sector—specifically in Turn 16—and a minor error in the final corner ended up costing him significantly. What could have been a place on the front row ultimately turned into a start from the third row of the grid, in fifth position.

Lewis Hamilton’s post-qualifying comments

“I experienced understeer in Turn 16, and that likely cost me quite a lot,” commented the British driver shortly after stepping out of the car. “Despite that, I’m pleased with the progress we’re making and the direction the team is heading in. My race engineer and I were much more aligned on the car’s setup this weekend, and I felt considerably more confident behind the wheel. The lap was going really well until the very last corner—I was about a tenth under my previous best. I’m not sure if it was the kerb that made me go a bit wide, but I lost the rear shortly after. We’re moving forward, that’s what matters. There’s still a lot of work to be done, of course, but we’ve only just introduced the update package in the previous race. We’re gradually improving our processes and refining the way we approach each Grand Prix weekend. I feel like we’re getting better results, and I’m determined to keep pushing.”

Lewis Hamilton then provided some technical insight into the behaviour of the Ferrari SF-25: “I think we probably have some inherent low-speed understeer, which seems to be a fundamental characteristic of this car. And I believe that sometimes we tend to push too hard, overdriving slightly in an attempt to claw back that extra bit of lap time.”

Focus on attacking in the race

When asked if things could go his way in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton remained pragmatic: “I don’t know, and honestly, I’m not even going to think about it. Whatever happens, happens. Tonight I’ll rest up and tomorrow in the race I’ll try to attack as much as I can and make the most of every opportunity.”

Finally, the British driver offered a slightly different perspective from that of his teammate Charles Leclerc, who had suggested that the Ferrari SF-25 consistently struggles in Q3: “Not today. The second run in Q3 has usually been a bit more difficult for us, that’s true, but today I was improving and I think I made a real step forward.”