The British crowd held onto hope until the final moments for a pole position claimed by either McLaren or Lewis Hamilton. But in the end, Max Verstappen pulled off another moment of brilliance. The reigning Formula 1 World Champion capitalized on a series of small but costly errors by Ferrari—considered favourites coming into qualifying—who were ultimately undone by a combination of underwhelming pace and a mysterious technical issue highlighted by Charles Leclerc. As a result, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers found themselves behind not only Red Bull Racing but also a resurgent Mercedes, boosted by cooler, autumn-like conditions that may deteriorate further on race day.
Ferrari’s Best Package Still Not Enough
This was perhaps the weekend where expectations for Ferrari were highest. Even rival teams had labelled the Maranello-based squad as the favourites for both qualifying and the race. “The lap times they were posting in practice were impressive,” admitted McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. “We weren’t in a position to match their pace on high fuel loads. Honestly, we believed they were the ones to beat this weekend.”
Even Charles Leclerc, despite his frustration at finishing sixth, confirmed that this had been Ferrari’s best technical package of the 2025 season. “We had a very competitive car throughout the entire weekend, both in terms of grip and balance in high-speed corners. The platform felt stable, especially compared to McLaren.” Surprisingly, even Lewis Hamilton echoed those sentiments, expressing a rare comfort with the SF-25 chassis.
Yet by the end of qualifying, Ferrari’s drivers were only fifth and sixth on the grid, just two-tenths of a second from pole but still the slowest among the leading teams. In such a tightly contested session, every variable becomes decisive. A sudden drop in track temperature—over 10°C cooler than Friday—may have also played a role. So too did driving errors, such as the tenth of a second lost by Lewis Hamilton in the final corner, which exposed a persistent understeer issue in slower turns, something Hamilton described as “inherent in this car.”
In general, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were forced to overdrive in order to compensate for the SF-25’s lack of outright pace, leading to mistakes. “I think we need to take risks with our driving to find that extra tenth,” Hamilton reflected. “On pure pace, I don’t think the car is naturally as fast as those in front. We probably push too hard and the car becomes unpredictable. We need more performance.”
The Mysterious Issue Behind Ferrari’s Struggles
Beyond sheer performance, Ferrari must also address a recurring technical issue on the SF-25. “From Q2 onwards, we started battling something strange inside the car,” revealed a cryptic Charles Leclerc. “The problem is very specific. It’s not about grip or balance. It’s something very odd that makes things especially difficult in high-speed corners. I hope we can fix it. The positive thing is that I’m confident it won’t affect us in the race.”
This recurring problem only appears in certain qualifying sessions, not all of them. “Sometimes we experience it, sometimes not at all,” said Leclerc, who clarified that the issue is unrelated to the rear suspension, which is due for an upgrade before the Belgian Grand Prix.
While Leclerc’s comments are difficult to decode, they seem to rule out aerodynamic, balance-related, or suspension mechanics problems. A plausible theory is that the issue might involve fuel pickup irregularities. This could explain why the problem surfaces only during qualifying—especially from Q2 onwards—when the fuel tank is nearly empty. It would also align with the difficulty emerging specifically in high-speed corners, where lateral G-forces could shift fuel away from the pumps. And because the issue appears only on circuits with significant high-speed lateral loads, like Silverstone, the theory holds water. Whatever the true cause, resolving it must become a top priority for Ferrari. In a championship where just two-tenths can mean the difference between pole and the third row, every millisecond counts.
Verstappen Denies McLaren and Claims Pole
While Ferrari failed to execute, Max Verstappen once again delivered a flawless performance, taking a surprise pole position that even earned him applause in the media centre. “This car is so difficult,” said the Dutch driver before starting his final flying lap. Verstappen managed to extract maximum pace from a Red Bull RB21 car running an extremely low-downforce rear wing setup. The team’s goal was clear: gain top speed on the straights and offset the car’s understeer—an approach that made the RB21 especially sensitive to wind gusts.
What stood out was Verstappen’s extraordinary ability to control a twitchy car under those challenging conditions, as well as the RB21’s ability to maintain floor efficiency despite the aggressive configuration. His effort earned him the right to start ahead of both McLaren drivers, with Oscar Piastri edging out Lando Norris.
Piastri’s aggressive line over the kerbs at Stowe on his first Q3 attempt caused floor damage, preventing him from improving on his second run. Lando Norris came close to taking advantage of the situation, finishing just 0.015s behind, suggesting that the McLaren MCL39 was right at the limit of its current potential. One might wonder if the new floor tested in FP1—where early feedback was positive—could have made the difference. Still, the team always intended to introduce that upgrade at the Belgian Grand Prix.
McLaren will nevertheless have a chance to challenge Verstappen in the race. However, team boss Andrea Stella remains cautious. He doubts that Red Bull’s low-downforce setup will automatically lead to higher tyre degradation: “On a track like this and under these conditions, we don’t believe there’s a direct correlation between downforce and degradation. If you’re fast on the straights, you can afford to push less in the corners.”
Mercedes Finds Form in the Cold
As expected, the drop in temperature seemed to energize the Mercedes. George Russell qualified fourth, splitting the McLaren and Ferrari drivers. The British driver extracted everything possible from the W15, although the car still struggled with tyre overheating—an ironic twist given the chilly conditions. “In Canada the track was 50°C, here it’s 25°C, but just the layout of the circuit puts us further back,” Russell explained.
Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished over three-tenths behind his teammate, hindered by instability in high-speed corners. That instability created a vicious cycle for the young Italian: lacking confidence in the Mercedes W15 made him reluctant to opt for the more aggressive aerodynamic setups used by Russell.
Overall, the Silverstone qualifying session confirmed just how tightly packed the front of the field is, with no clear favourite heading into Sunday. Ferrari knows that it has a strong long-run pace, but starting from the third row may prevent the team from capitalising on it in clean air. The likely race scenario revolves around a one-stop strategy—though rain could turn everything upside down, adding another layer of drama to one of the most competitive weekends of the season.
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