Is Silverstone Hamilton's best chance to salvage his 2025 F1 season?

Lewis Hamilton‘s arrival at Ferrari in 2025 was seen as a perfect scenario for both parties: the former realising a childhood dream and the team uniting with the most successful driver as it sought to return to championship-conquering form.

From a sporting and marketing perspective it was, on paper, a winning combination. The story, however, has not unfolded in the way either of them had hoped for.

But this weekend’s British Grand Prix could be Hamilton’s best chance at a 2025 victory thanks to Ferrari’s latest upgrades, which are tailored for Silverstone’s high-speed layout, and his extraordinary record at the circuit.

The energy of the home crowd and his deep familiarity with the track often inspire peak performances from Hamilton, so the British venue could offer him the opportunity to score a 10th win.

The anticipated move to Ferrari has so far failed to deliver the fairytale start the team and driver expected, the seven-time world champion outperformed by team-mate Charles Leclerc on a regular basis as Hamilton has lacked confidence and pace behind the wheel of the SF-25.

The gap between the Briton and Leclerc has been stark on several races: at the Saudi Arabian GP, Hamilton finished 31 seconds behind Leclerc, describing the experience as “horrible” and admitting there was “no fix” in sight for his discomfort and lack of pace.

He has struggled with car balance, grip, and tyre degradation, and has been open about the “painful” process of adapting to Ferrari’s unique demands.

Despite a sprint win in Shanghai, consistent race pace and qualifying performance have eluded Hamilton, leaving him trailing in the championship and questioning his ability to extract performance from the car.

Technical issues, such as brake problems in Austria, where he was actually closer to Leclerc, have further hampered his efforts.

Having often felt deflated at the end of the weekend, Hamilton was more optimistic at the Red Bull Ring after Ferrari emerged as McLaren‘s closest challenger after Max Verstappen, was eliminated on the opening lap.

“I think I’m slowly making progress, which is a real positive,” Hamilton said. “We’ve made progress as a team, which is really positive and it’s great for us to be the second-fastest team this weekend and to be so close to, I mean, we’re not a minute down, which is really positive.”

Hamilton admitted there is still progress to be made in terms of race trim, but was encouraged that his qualifying form was improving.

Ferrari upgrades will face key test

In Austria the Scuderia introduced updates which Hamilton felt wouldn’t make a significant impact, but he was surprised by the improvement.