Scuderia Ferrari delivered yet another disappointing performance over the course of the Formula 1 weekend at Silverstone, and once again, Mattia Binotto, who is now leading Audi’s Formula 1 project, managed to come out on top against his former team from Maranello. The previous race of the 2025 Formula 1 championship, which was held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, had left Ferrari with a sense of satisfaction, as things had gone rather well compared to previous outings. Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur had been particularly eager to emphasize and underline the quality of the work carried out by the team during the three intense days of activity at Spielberg. However, it is now evident that the momentum seen in Austria unfortunately did not continue at the British Grand Prix. The same recurring problems emerged once again, highlighting the chronic difficulties of a racing team that continues to struggle with delivering consistent performance and reliable results from one Grand Prix weekend to the next.
Once again, Ferrari shows that it is still struggling with managing race scenarios. Ahead of the start of the Silverstone race, much had been said about the critical importance of avoiding strategic and operational mistakes. In order to succeed under such pressure, it was essential for the Maranello team to manage the evolving and unpredictable weather conditions in the most effective way possible. Doing so would have allowed the Italian side to seize those strategic opportunities that tend to emerge during such mixed-weather races. Naturally, this is never an easy objective to accomplish, and that is widely understood. However, the harsh reality remains that Scuderia Ferrari not only fails to capitalize on these complex situations, but quite often worsens its own situation through questionable decisions, sometimes in a significant way.
And that is exactly what unfolded during the 2025 British Grand Prix held at the Silverstone Circuit. A combination of strategic misjudgements and driving errors led to the entire race effort unraveling. As always, it is not about assigning personal blame or pointing fingers at individual figures. The real issue lies with the operational and analytical support provided by the department working remotely from Maranello, specifically the now well-known “remote garage,” which is supposed to assist the engineers on the pit wall during races. Unfortunately, it continues to fail in offering that extra edge or value that is crucial in races characterized by rapidly changing track conditions. The Maranello-based team leaves British soil battered and bruised, metaphorically speaking. It is difficult to say anything more optimistic.
The root of the issue is actually quite clear: the Ferrari SF-25 had shown promising performance earlier in the weekend, displaying a good level of competitiveness and appearing well-prepared in the first two free practice sessions that were held on Friday. However, already during the qualifying session, the car began to show its limits. As track temperatures dropped, the SF-25 single-seater no longer behaved like it had during the three free practice sessions. Longstanding weaknesses returned, especially in slower corners, where the single-seater suffered from a lack of grip, particularly due to insufficient tyre performance. Tyres that, over the full 300-kilometre race distance, continued to create significant difficulties for the drivers.
Bringing the Pirelli intermediate tyres into the correct operating temperature window was nearly impossible. And, as has sadly become a trend in recent years, Scuderia Ferrari once again failed to find performance in wet or semi-wet track conditions. On top of this came a questionable and risky strategic decision involving Charles Leclerc before the race had even officially started. A similar error was repeated in the closing stages of the British Grand Prix, when perhaps the Maranello team could have waited two additional laps before switching to the dry slick tyres. As for the driving mistakes made by the team’s drivers, those were less relevant in the grand scheme of things, as it was genuinely difficult to keep the SF-25 under control under such challenging conditions.
Charles Leclerc was clearly demoralized and overwhelmed by frustration at the end of the Silverstone round. From the very first lap of the race until the moment he crossed the finish line, his race experience was one of suffering and endurance. Reaching the chequered flag came almost as an emotional relief. His Ferrari SF-25 never had a competitive or consistent race pace at any stage. It still remains unclear whether the root cause of his lack of performance was due to a setup choice which, as Charles Leclerc himself admitted in post-race interviews, was particularly aggressive and extreme. This same setup turned out to be a fatal flaw once the rain arrived, rendering the SF-25 nearly undriveable in the wet.
It is worth noting that Charles Leclerc had been the first to strongly insist on switching to the Soft compound tyres after the installation lap. The Monegasque driver had evaluated that roughly two-thirds of the Silverstone track were already dry and believed that the sunlight would soon take care of the remaining third. In the end, that prediction turned out to be overly optimistic. What is surprising is that detailed weather data was available and accessible in real-time. Given that the probability of rainfall remained high, perhaps it would have been wiser for the Maranello pit wall to avoid taking such a risky gamble. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton made a much more conservative and ultimately correct choice in that moment.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion was consistent but not outstanding. Lewis Hamilton put in a more measured and careful performance throughout the Grand Prix. He made a strong start and, in the opening laps of the race, even looked like he might challenge the McLaren drivers for position. However, as soon as the McLaren MCL39 cars driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri brought their tyres up to optimal temperature, they quickly pulled away from Lewis Hamilton. The same thing happened with Max Verstappen and his Red Bull. The Ferrari number 44 struggled considerably throughout the entire first stint. The car lacked drivability and was unpredictable in its behaviour. Things only began to improve during the second stint, when the balance and grip became more manageable, allowing Lewis Hamilton to mount a solid recovery all the way up to his final pit stop.
After that, the British driver went off track on two occasions. It was precisely during those moments that he lost third place. The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion was not gentle in his post-race remarks about the SF-25, stating that the car lacks stability at low speeds and is generally difficult to control. According to him, driving such an unpredictable machine for 52 laps in changeable weather was a complete nightmare. Lewis Hamilton also expressed dissatisfaction with the strategic decisions taken by the team during the race and his frustration appears entirely justified.
In the end, Nico Hülkenberg achieved a historic result by taking the first podium finish of his long Formula 1 career. Meanwhile, Mattia Binotto, who now leads Audi’s ambitious Formula 1 project, once again finished ahead of his former team. But this time, much of the credit for his success does not come from any miracle on his part, but rather from the numerous errors committed by Scuderia Ferrari itself.
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And you? What do you think about how Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton performed last Sunday in the UK? Let us know with a comment at the end of the article or on our social media channels: Facebook Group / Facebook Page / Instagram / X (former Twitter)
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