Ferrari appeared to be one of the main contenders for pole position ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It might sound surprising to many, but the Ferrari SF-25 single-seater arrived at the legendary track in the United Kingdom showing significantly more competitiveness than originally expected. The newly revised floor that was introduced during the previous race weekend in Austria is now delivering tangible performance improvements, and across all three free practice sessions held at Silverstone, both Charles Leclerc and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton demonstrated that they were capable of fighting on equal terms with any other competitor on the grid – including the increasingly threatening McLaren team, spearheaded by young talent Lando Norris and Australian driver Oscar Piastri.
So let’s take a detailed look at what went wrong for the Italian side in the qualifying session for the British GP: Ferrari sent both of its Formula 1 cars back out on the Soft compound tyres, which are the softest and most performance-oriented option provided by Pirelli for this race weekend. The environmental conditions remained quite cool, with ambient temperatures lower than those recorded on Friday and a fully overcast sky that hinted at the possibility of light rain showers. Both drivers completed their preparation laps and launched into their first proper flying laps. Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc made a few small errors at Turn 4 and Turn 6, visibly struggling to find optimal traction and rear-end grip, especially during corner exit. He also showed some instability through the high-speed Becketts section, where the car appeared unsettled under load.
British driver Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, looked smoother, more composed, and technically cleaner throughout the lap, although it appeared that both Ferrari cars were unable to bring their tyres into the correct and optimal operating temperature window. The Italian team opted for two cooldown laps before making another push. However, at precisely that moment, the qualifying session was red-flagged following an incident involving Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who lost control of his Alpine Formula 1 car and went off the track at the final corner of the lap. Despite briefly attempting to continue, Colapinto was ultimately forced to stop his car on track, triggering the deployment of the red flag.
Charles Leclerc had already begun his flying lap at the time of the red flag interruption, which may have partially compromised the performance of his Pirelli tyres for the next attempt. After a break of just under ten minutes, the session resumed. Car number 16, Charles Leclerc’s SF-25, went back out on the same set of Soft tyres, as the Maranello-based team believed they could still deliver a satisfactory level of grip. Onboard camera footage showed a few raindrops on the lens, indicating that humidity levels on the circuit had increased slightly. Both Ferrari drivers went for another push lap, with the expectation of achieving clearer and more representative lap times.
Charles Leclerc was forced to abort his first flying attempt due to a visible snap of oversteer at Turn 7, but he managed to improve on the following lap and safely advanced to the second qualifying segment, Q2. Lewis Hamilton, however, struggled to find a proper rhythm and narrowly avoided being knocked out by just a few hundredths of a second. His SF-25 Formula 1 car did not have enough fuel onboard for an additional timed attempt, but the British driver still managed to progress to Q2 in 14th position. Eliminated in Q1 were Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Canadian driver Lance Stroll, German driver Nico Hülkenberg, and, naturally, Franco Colapinto.
One key point became clear from the opening session: in such sensitive and borderline track conditions, the management of tyre temperature and overall tyre behaviour becomes absolutely crucial. Even young British Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman highlighted this issue over the team radio, reporting to his race engineer how difficult it was to fully express the car’s potential under the prevailing conditions. This problem also affected the two cars fielded by Ferrari, whose SF-25 cars – typically dominant in the central sector of the Silverstone layout – were unable to generate sufficient aerodynamic grip and mechanical traction in that portion of the circuit, a weakness already observed across all three free practice sessions. If not addressed, this limitation could significantly undermine Ferrari’s ability to compete at the highest level.
Track temperature increased by just 2.5°C from the start of Q1 – a marginal and insufficient rise, not enough to meaningfully help the Ferrari cars with tyre warm-up. As the second qualifying segment (Q2) began, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went out on used Soft tyres – a strategic decision that distinguished Scuderia Ferrari from other top teams. The plan was to save fresh sets of tyres for the final and decisive part of qualifying, the Q3 session, where two flying laps would be possible. Given the older compound, their lap times were not bad, but it was evident that a second run on a new set of tyres would be essential to safely secure a place in the top ten shootout.
After a three-minute wait in the pit lane, both Ferrari drivers returned to the track, this time on brand new Soft tyres. The objective was crystal clear: avoid any errors and put in a clean, representative lap. The out lap was more aggressive, with both drivers pushing harder to bring the Pirelli rubber into the correct thermal window. Charles Leclerc was not perfect in the sequence between Turn 3 and Turn 4, displaying a touch of understeer – the same characteristic also noted by his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Despite a few imperfections in the first sector of the lap, both Ferrari drivers completed their timed runs with competitive sector times. They secured the top two positions on the timing screens, thereby guaranteeing access to the final segment of qualifying, Q3 – with British driver Lewis Hamilton slightly ahead of Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz, Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda, young Frenchman Isack Hadjar, Thai-British driver Alexander Albon, and Frenchman Esteban Ocon were all eliminated in Q2.
The cold ambient and track temperatures continued to trouble the Italian team, particularly in the management and optimisation of tyre performance. Ferrari appeared to have adopted a conservative strategy, deliberately starting each run on tyres that were slightly below their ideal temperature to avoid overheating issues in the final sector of the lap. However, the previously strong car balance observed during free practice now seemed compromised, which negatively impacted the overall performance level of the Ferrari SF-25. The hope within the team was that both drivers could compensate for these limitations with precise and measured driving during the final flying laps.
Q3 begins: a front-row opportunity slips through Ferrari’s fingers
Both Ferrari drivers began the Q3 session – the top-ten shootout – on fresh Soft compound tyres. Their track position was favourable, with no traffic and a clear piece of tarmac ahead – the ideal conditions to extract maximum performance. Charles Leclerc once again experienced some instability on corner exit at Turn 4, similar to the issues faced by Lewis Hamilton, though in Leclerc’s case, the instability was slightly more manageable. Over the remainder of the lap, the Monegasque driver lost time primarily through Turns 6, 7, and 10. British seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was more consistent in his driving, managing to piece together a more coherent lap, aided by a more efficient tyre warm-up phase.
With the countdown clock showing under four minutes remaining in the session, both Ferrari drivers prepared for their final qualifying runs. The warm-up laps were faster than the previous ones, as confirmed over team radio communications. However, Charles Leclerc was clearly dissatisfied. He shouted in frustration over the radio, visibly exasperated after a compromised lap that featured a mistake at Turn 4, additional errors through the Becketts complex, and marked understeer in the final corners of the lap. Lewis Hamilton, while appearing more stable and composed, was also unable to complete a fully clean lap by the end of the session.
When the final chequered flag dropped, the result for Ferrari was a fifth and sixth place on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. A result largely conditioned by the ongoing struggle to bring the Soft compound tyres into their ideal working window – a factor that disrupted the delicate aerodynamic and mechanical balance of the SF-25, which had looked promising during the free practice sessions. The gap to the front row was relatively small – approximately two-tenths of a second – but considering the car’s potential and the encouraging signs seen earlier in the weekend, this felt like a missed opportunity for the Italian team. That said, Ferrari remains in contention for the race win, especially given the encouraging long-run pace and tyre consistency shown during the practice runs. The 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone is still wide open, with everything to play for on Sunday.
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