Costly strategy ends Hamilton’s historic podium run

For the first time since 2014, Lewis Hamilton did not make it to the podium at the British Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver finished fourth at Silverstone after a challenging race marked by changing conditions and a disputed Ferrari strategy. His streak of twelve consecutive podiums at home thus comes to an end, in a race where he never really found the pace.

Promising weekend compromised

Hamilton had started his weekend well by dominating the first practice sessions and showing competitiveness against the McLarens. But from the start of the race, difficulties began. Starting fifth, the seven-time world champion found himself eighth after the first pit stop, when rain appeared on the eleventh lap. Ferrari then decided to bring him in to fit a new set of intermediate tires, but the timing was not optimal.

« I don’t really understand how I was fourth and ended up eighth. It made the race very complicated », Hamilton admitted. Stuck behind the midfield cars for many laps — first Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, then Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, and Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber — he couldn’t exploit his pace. « I was stuck behind three cars for a long time. Then we tried an undercut with an early stop, but it was super difficult », he summarized in front of the media.

The lost battle against Hülkenberg

The real challenge of Hamilton’s race crystallized around his battle with Hülkenberg for third place. The German driver, starting from nineteenth, had made a spectacular comeback and was in a position to clinch his first podium in 239 Grand Prix. The fight for the third step on the podium seemed reignited, especially since the Sauber had switched to intermediate tires earlier.

Hamilton seemed well on his way to bridging the gap after overtaking Gasly on lap 29, then Stroll on lap 35. The Silverstone crowd even began to hope to see their local hero climb onto the podium for the thirteenth time. But Ferrari chose to bring him into the pits on lap 42 to switch to slick tires, a decision made too hastily. The track was still too wet, and in the first few corners, Hamilton ran wide and lost several seconds.

“It was really complicated. This car does not like these conditions. I had a big slip and went wide in turn 3, which made me lose a lot of time. Then I made several more mistakes. Really a lot. It was clearly not a good day,” he admitted.

Hülkenberg stopped one lap later, with slightly more favorable conditions, and came out ahead. The gap between the two drivers would never be closed. Despite a stronger pace at the end of the race and the fastest lap at one point, Hamilton will not be able to catch up with the German driver, firmly settled on the podium.

An indomitable single-seater

Beyond the strategic choices, Hamilton highlighted the unstable behavior of his SF-25: “It’s probably the most difficult car I’ve driven in the rain. It keeps slipping, especially at low speed. It’s really frustrating,” he admitted. Particularly fickle in slow corners, the Ferrari single-seater proved unstable and unpredictable, never allowing him to build the necessary confidence to fully attack.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he described his feelings as the worst he had ever experienced. He explained that he couldn’t rely on the back of the car: “When the car keeps losing grip, you can’t build confidence. The goal is to accumulate that confidence to go faster and faster. But it was like building a wall that collapses every time. You don’t make progress. And that’s exactly how I felt for most of the race.”

Ferrari blind without GPS

In addition to questionable tactical choices, Ferrari experienced a technical problem that complicated race management. Director Frédéric Vasseur revealed that after ten laps, Hamilton’s GPS system stopped working.

Vasseur indicated that the team no longer precisely knew where the British driver was on the track, which notably disrupted the implementation of the strategy. This failure partly explains the poor timings, especially during the first stop and the transition to slicks.

A series that ends

Since 2014, Hamilton had never left Silverstone without a podium. Eleven years of impressive consistency, with seven victories between 2014 and 2021, including six consecutive ones from 2014 to 2017, then again in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Even in challenging seasons, he managed to secure a podium finish: second in 2018, then third in 2022 and 2023.

The year 2024 even marked a return to grace, with an emotional victory after more than two years without success. This exceptional consistency made him the undisputed master of Silverstone, with nine victories to his name.

This remarkable series therefore came to an abrupt halt on Sunday. Hamilton had all the assets: perfect knowledge of the track, experience with variable conditions, support from the stands. But a Ferrari difficult to drive in the rain and poorly timed decisions ended this domination. A series that was built over the Mercedes years and was supposed to continue with Ferrari finally stops at the foot of the podium.

Lessons to be learned

The result, while honorable, leaves a bitter taste. Hamilton secures his third fourth-place finish this season, without having reached the podium (excluding sprints) since joining Ferrari. Despite the disappointment, he managed to hold onto a few positive points.

I think the positive takeaway from this weekend is that I was in the rhythm right from the practice sessions. I was much more satisfied with the car’s balance in the dry. And then in qualifying, we were really much stronger. So there are quite a few encouraging aspects. In a race like this, even if the result isn’t ideal, you can learn a lot. I feel like I now know what to say to the team to prevent certain issues from being in next year’s car, he concluded.