McLaren wary of Ferrari’s pace at Silverstone: here’s where Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are strongest. McLaren fears Ferrari could challenge them at Silverstone.

The McLaren Formula 1 team is expressing concern over the competitiveness of Scuderia Ferrari ahead of the 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, McLaren’s race drivers, have both acknowledged that Ferrari appears particularly strong on the British circuit, highlighting the potential of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to make a real difference over the race weekend.

McLaren was reportedly surprised by the level of performance shown by Ferrari on Friday during the two free practice sessions. The SF-25, the 2025 Ferrari single-seater, impressed in both short and long runs, catching the attention of both Norris and Piastri.

In Free Practice 1 (FP1), Lewis Hamilton—who joined Ferrari this season after a long career with Mercedes—topped the timesheets. This marked the first time this season that the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion led a session as a Ferrari driver. Right behind him, both McLaren cars were close, showing competitive pace. Then, in Free Practice 2 (FP2), it was Lando Norris who set the fastest time, with both Ferrari drivers close behind. Charles Leclerc, in particular, was the nearest challenger, clocking in just +0.222 seconds behind Norris and securing second place in the session.

While the Austrian Grand Prix had seen McLaren dominate the proceedings, things could take a different turn at Silverstone. The early signs suggest that Ferrari may be able to fight for victory this weekend. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the second practice session, Lando Norris shared his thoughts on Ferrari’s performance:

“With the soft compound tyres, they put in a very strong lap. But overall, I think Ferrari was really fast today. And they’ll likely be just as fast tomorrow. So honestly, we still have a bit of work to do.”

According to Norris, Ferrari will likely catch up with McLaren over the course of the Silverstone weekend. He pinpointed Ferrari’s increasing pace as a potential concern, especially as they tend to improve as the weekend progresses: “Ferrari looked perhaps a bit too good today. As always, they’ll be right there with us when we go into FP3, just like they were last weekend.”

Despite the strong competition, Norris seemed fairly content with McLaren’s performance during Friday’s running, though he admitted: “There’s nothing to be too proud of just yet.”

Oscar Piastri echoed a similar sentiment, confirming that Ferrari’s form had indeed taken the team a bit by surprise. “It was a bit unexpected,” the Australian commented. “They looked strong in both the qualifying simulations and the race pace runs,” he added, before concluding: “I think they’ll be in the fight this weekend, which will definitely make things interesting.”