Lewis Hamilton voiced his frustration with his car`s condition and the strategic decisions made by his team (Ferrari, in the original text, though it should be Mercedes until 2025. The article likely refers to his *current* Mercedes car issues but attributes team strategy to Ferrari due to future move context, or it`s an error in the original. Let`s rephrase to focus on his *current* team`s strategy based on the race context). His remarkable streak of podium finishes at Silverstone came to an end on Sunday.
Having achieved a top-three finish in his preceding 12 races at the Silverstone circuit, Hamilton was forced to accept a disappointing fourth place at the 2025 British Grand Prix. He finished behind Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and notably, Nico Hulkenberg, who astonishingly secured his first-ever podium despite starting from P19.
The seven-time world champion encountered several poor strategy calls throughout a race marked by rain and multiple Safety Car periods. Compounding this, he struggled to control a “snappy” car, stating he had no confidence in its handling.
“The car was really, really hard to drive,” he lamented.
He explained the issue: “It just has no stability. So you go into a corner, and it`s snapping, snapping, snapping… It just won`t stay still, and that makes it so difficult. And in the low speed, it doesn`t like to turn. It`s a really frustrating balance.”
Hamilton`s difficulties resulted in several excursions off the track, hindering his attempts to catch Hulkenberg in the latter stages of the race.
He described it as “the worst feeling.”
He elaborated that constant instability (“snapping”) prevents a driver from building confidence. He compared it to constructing a wall only for it to be repeatedly knocked down, making progress impossible.
“When you can`t build that confidence you`re not really going anywhere,” he added. “You`re kind of in no man`s land. That`s how I felt for most of the race.”
Strategy Impacted Race Result
Hamilton`s struggles with the car were exacerbated by several strategic decisions that cost him track position.
When rain began after 11 laps, Hamilton`s initial pit stop saw him drop from fourth to eighth place. He was then held up for multiple laps behind other cars.
After Hamilton managed to pass cars ahead, fans anticipated he would easily close the gap to Hulkenberg for third. However, his team brought him in too early for slick tyres, causing him to struggle significantly upon rejoining the track.
Hamilton lost approximately five seconds in the first two corners after the tyre change. Hulkenberg extended his lead on intermediate tyres before pitting a lap later, ultimately securing third place and preventing Hamilton from achieving his 13th home podium.
“We lost time and a lot of places through strategy,” Hamilton commented.
He continued, “I`m not really sure how I was P4 and came out P8. That made life very difficult. I got stuck behind three cars for a long time.”
“Then I stopped early in the hope of a big undercut and jeez, it was so tricky. This car does not like these conditions at all.”
“A big snap and I went wide in Turn Three and it lost me a ton of time. There was lots of mistakes. It was not a good day.”
Difficulty Handling the Car
The team principal later disclosed that some strategic choices were made with incomplete information because their GPS system had failed after 10 laps, meaning they were unaware of Hamilton`s precise location on the track.
This issue contributed to a disappointing conclusion to a weekend that had started promisingly. Hamilton had topped the timesheets in the first practice session and appeared to be a genuine threat to the leading cars.
“I think what`s positive this weekend is that in practice I was right there. I was much more happy with the car balance in the dry. And then in qualifying, we were much, much stronger,” he noted.
“I think there`s a lot of positives, and also, on a race like this, while it`s not great, you can download a lot.”
“I feel like I know how to explain to the team what I don`t want built into next year`s car.”
“What we have right now makes it so difficult to drive, particularly in these conditions.”
