Lewis Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s strategy after a costly pit stop at Silverstone, while Fred Vasseur explained the gamble – Ferrari’s victory in the British Grand Prix was overshadowed by a tactical decision that left Lewis Hamilton frustrated, as the seven-time world champion dropped from second to third place behind the safety car at Silverstone.
Hamilton had seemed likely to finish second behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, until an incident involving Max Verstappen brought out the Safety Car with just four laps remaining. Ferrari decided to pit Hamilton for fresh tyres, but the race never resumed, meaning the Briton had to settle for third place after losing track position to George Russell.
Hamilton was left frustrated by the late Ferrari call
Hamilton had been running comfortably in second place when Verstappen‘s Red Bull got stuck in the gravel, prompting the Safety Car. Ferrari immediately called Hamilton into the pits for fresh tyres in anticipation of a possible restart.
However, race control kept the Safety Car on track until the chequered flag, meaning Hamilton’s stop ultimately proved unnecessary and cost him second place. This reduced his championship points haul from 18 to 15.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton admitted he was disappointed by the outcome and suggested that he would have stayed on the track had he understood the consequences.
“To be honest, it’s all a bit of a blur. I was in second place, then we pitted. We could have foreseen that we would lose second place.”
The Ferrari driver explained that the decision came from the team’s pit wall rather than from the cockpit.
“I didn’t know I would lose a position because of it. If I had known, I wouldn’t have pitted.”
The three-point swing could prove significant as Hamilton continues his pursuit of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with every result becoming increasingly important as the 2026 Formula 1 season progresses.
Fred Vasseur defends Ferrari’s tactical gamble
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged that the decision ultimately backfired, but he defended the reasoning behind it.
With uncertainty surrounding whether the race would restart, Ferrari faced a difficult strategic choice. Staying out on worn tyres could have left Hamilton vulnerable if green-flag racing resumed, while pitting guaranteed fresher rubber but carried the risk of losing track position.
Vasseur told Sky that Ferrari had no way of knowing the race would end behind the Safety Car.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have my crystal ball with me, so I couldn’t predict whether we would lose a place or not,” he said. He added: “It was a gamble. If you don’t take it and there’s another restart, you can easily lose even more places.’
Charles Leclerc delivered Ferrari’s first Silverstone victory in years
Although Hamilton was disappointed, Ferrari celebrated one of its strongest weekends in recent memory.
Charles Leclerc claimed his first Formula 1 victory since October 2024, ending a lengthy winless streak and securing Ferrari’s first British Grand Prix triumph since 2011. This was also the Scuderia’s best result at Silverstone for years, even though the team narrowly missed achieving their first one-two finish at the circuit since 2002.
Vasseur praised the efforts of the entire organisation, as Ferrari had arrived at Silverstone with relatively modest expectations.
“The mood is incredibly positive because it’s obviously a fantastic result for the team,” he said.
“We arrived in Silverstone feeling somewhat pessimistic about our overall performance. Everyone at the factory and here at the track has worked incredibly hard to squeeze out every last tenth of a second.”
Vasseur concluded by highlighting the significance of Ferrari’s overall result: “Step by step, we’ve got closer to Kimi. P1 and P3 are a good result for the team and a great result for Charles.”
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