Hamilton explains how his pole lap bombed at the end

Last Updated on July 5 2025, 10:52 pm

Pole position slips through Hamilton’s fingers at Silverstone — Lewis Hamilton’s dream of securing an unprecedented eighth pole position at the British Grand Prix seemed to be within his reach on Saturday, only for it to be snatched away by a misjudged battle with understeer in the final moments of qualifying.

As the home hero revved up the crowd with a series of quick laps, it looked for a moment as though the stars might align for the 40-year-old, who had been performing well all weekend in his SF-25 Ferrari. However, with Silverstone watching on, it all unravelled at the Vale chicane.

 

A Silverstone classic… almost

The grandstands were packed, the energy was electric and Hamilton’s qualifying run had all the makings of a classic. The Ferrari looked steady, Hamilton was precise throughout most of the lap, and the home fans could be forgiven for thinking they were about to witness one of those legendary Silverstone moments.

Instead, they witnessed a gust of understeer at precisely the wrong time. The final sector, particularly the tricky Vale entry, undid all the hard work. A kerb bite and a slight slide meant that suddenly, the stopwatch wasn’t on his side anymore. The result? A lap just 0.203 seconds shy of Max Verstappen’s pole-sitting RB21, and a start from fifth on the grid.

“The lap was really nice up until that last corner,” Hamilton told the media after the session. “I just had a bit of understeer. I don’t know if it was the kerb that caused me to veer off course, but I lost over a tenth, I think. That would definitely have put me on the front row.”

 

Ferrari’s Trait of Trouble and the Perils of Overdriving

Hamilton later explained that the issue wasn’t just an isolated mistake. It’s something he’s been struggling with throughout his Ferrari tenure this season: low-speed understeer that seems to be part of the car’s DNA. With the SF-25 not quite matching the natural pace of the McLarens and Red Bulls, the seven-time champion admitted that he has been overdriving the car in search of lap time.

‘We’re probably having to go too far over the limit, which is when the car gets super peaky,’ he explained. “So, we need a little more performance.”

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Charles Leclerc has been saying something similar all season — that the car demands precision within a very narrow operating window. Hamilton’s comments suggest that he is now experiencing the same frustration. Perhaps the SF-25 should come with a warning label: ‘May induce chronic understeer and existential musings about your setup choices.’

 

A moral victory over Leclerc

Still, if there was a silver lining for Hamilton, it came in the form of a rare qualifying win over his teammate. For much of 2025, Charles Leclerc has had the upper hand in one-lap qualifying. But at Silverstone, both Ferrari drivers faltered in a similar way — yet it was Hamilton who came out on top.

This marks the third time in four race weekends that Hamilton has outqualified Leclerc, narrowing the intra-team qualifying battle to 8–4. Baby steps, perhaps, but steps nonetheless.

“I was happy with my car,” said Hamilton when discussing the team’s diverging setup paths. “We’re not far apart. Our set-ups are different, but I’m using Leclerc’s method more, so it’s moving in that direction.”

In simpler terms, after months of stubbornly maintaining a Hamilton-esque approach to his car setup, the Brit has begun to adopt a more Leclerc-like philosophy — a necessary adaptation in this ground-effect era, where too much individuality can lead to complete unpredictability. He hasn’t gone full Leclerc, of course. That would be blasphemous. But a mild flirtation with his teammate’s approach has evidently helped.

 

From Fifth to Glory? Unlikely, but not impossible

On Sunday, Hamilton will start the race behind Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Russell. While the chances of winning from fifth place are slim in the hyper-competitive 2025 field, this is still Silverstone. And this is still Lewis Hamilton.

He has already won here seven times in Formula 1, and an eighth victory would set a record that no one could ever hope to beat — not even Jim Clark or Alain Prost. However, unless the race is chaotic or Ferrari suddenly finds a miracle race pace, Hamilton will need to temper his expectations.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean he won’t be a threat. If he can get off to a flying start and overtake one or two cars early on, his racecraft — honed over 19 years of Grand Prix racing — could still come into play.

More importantly, he’s beginning to look at home in Ferrari red. This weekend marked a quiet but meaningful evolution: no more experimental setups or philosophical differences with his car. He’s just a seasoned driver getting on with the job, learning from his younger teammate and reminding everyone why he’s still relevant in Formula 1’s new order.

 

A life after Mercedes is still under construction

This season hasn’t been an easy transition for Hamilton. Swapping Brackley for Maranello might have made headlines and boosted sales, but it hasn’t turned the SF-25 into a championship contender. At least not yet. The learning curve has been steeper than he’d hoped, and his race performances haven’t set the paddock alight — he currently trails Leclerc 1–9 in head-to-head races.

However, every little bit of progress counts, and if Hamilton manages to finish ahead of Leclerc again on Sunday, he’ll improve that tally to 2–9 (4–9 including Sprint races). While it’s not quite enough to warrant a Ferrari parade through Modena, it’s a sign that the man who once made Mercedes his kingdom is slowly laying the foundation for a new one.

 

Final thoughts: Almost Greatness

Hamilton’s Silverstone Saturday will go down as one of those “almost” sessions. Almost on pole. Almost the fairytale ending. Almost a turning point.

However, in classic Hamilton fashion, there’s a quiet undercurrent of defiance in his voice. Yes, he finished fifth. But he was fifth in a car that arguably shouldn’t have been higher than seventh. While others worry about the limitations of the SF-25, Hamilton is already planning how to outdrive them.

On Sunday, he’ll try again. With a crowd of over 100,000 roaring him on, don’t be surprised if fifth place on the grid turns into something far more headline-worthy by sunset.

After all, it wouldn’t be Silverstone without at least a hint of Hamilton magic.