Hamilton: Silverstone front row in play until scrappy qualifying finish

Lewis Hamilton was left to ponder what could have been at his home Grand Prix after a costly error in the final sector of his last flying lap in qualifying dashed his hopes of a front-row start for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

Despite showing strong pace throughout the session and topping Q2, the Ferrari driver ultimately qualified fifth, 0.203s off pole-sitter Max Verstappen.

Hamilton admitted that a moment of understeer in Silverstone’s closing corners during the final shootout proved decisive.

“I just had understeer at Turn 16 and lost the time that I had,” the seven-time world champion explained after the session. When asked if that mistake may have cost him pole, he replied: “It probably cost me at least second.”

Despite the setback, the Briton confirmed feeling confident in his setup and overall progress across the weekend.

“I’m really pleased with the progress,” he said. “I’m really pleased with the direction. My engineer and I have been really gelling a lot better in terms of how we set the car up and I was much happier in the car.

“The lap was really, really nice. Up until the last corner, there was a bit of understeer. It was the curb that put me a little wide, but then I just lost it. I think it was just over a tenth so that definitely would have probably put me on the front row.”

Ferrari's Persistent Understeer Problem

Hamilton’s fifth-place grid slot marked only his second time outqualifying Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc this season.

However, he acknowledged ongoing challenges with the Ferrari SF-25, particularly its handling in low-speed corners.

“I think at the end we're at low-speed understeer, which is something that's inherent with this car,” he said.

“I think we're overdriving to get that extra bit of time. We're at an actual pure pace, I don't think the car is naturally as quick.

“So we're probably having to go a little bit too far over, which then makes it where the car’s super tricky. So we need a little bit more performance.”

While the 40-year-old F1 veteran was encouraged by his personal performance, he admitted that the team still faces a performance ceiling due to these persistent limitations.

“Pretty much all the other sessions, the second run in Q3 has always been a little bit harder. But today I was progressing, which was positive. So I think I've taken a step there. I think there's still more to get.”

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As for whether Ferrari can iron out those issues this season, Hamilton struck a cautious tone.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure it would be,” he said when asked if a fix was possible.

Heading into Sunday’s race from the third row, Hamilton will be looking to turn his frustration into momentum – and give the home fans something to cheer about in what could be one of his final British Grands Prix at Silverstone.

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