Lewis Hamilton is encouraged by Ferrari’s potential this weekend following their performance in practice at Silverstone.
He was quickest in the first practice session for the British Grand Prix and ended the second session in third place behind team mate Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari drivers lapped within three tenths of a second of pace-setter Lando Norris.
Hamilton, who has begun using a closer set-up to Leclerc’s in recent weeks, said he’s making gains with the car as he starts to understand it better.
“I’m progressing a lot now with the car and much more comfortable knowing where it needs to be,” he told the official F1 channel. “I think by [second practice] we still weren’t where we needed to be, so in [second practice] I definitely struggled a little bit more. But we know the changes that we need to make for the next session.”
Ferrari brought an upgrade at the previous round in Austria but have not brought a further step this weekend. “With the Red Bull and McLaren [having] an upgrade, for us to be in the mix still given that they’ve had a step today it’s really positive,” Hamilton added.
During second practice Leclerc said he felt there was a clear opportunity for Ferrari to improve their car overnight. Hamilton is also optimistic about their chances.
“I definitely feel that we can dream of having a strong weekend, for sure,” he said. “Executing and putting it all together and extracting it is another thing. But I’ll prepare myself the best I can to make sure we get the best result.”
One variable all teams will have to contend with is the cooler and potentially wetter conditions forecast for the next two days. “I think tomorrow there’s rain potentially coming and also on Sunday as well, so we’re just going to try our hardest to make we’re ready for that,” Hamilton added.
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2025 British Grand Prix
- Ferrari impress on Friday but ‘Mercedes weather’ is forecast: Practice data
- Hamilton believes “strong weekend” is possible for Ferrari after practice
- Red Bull had a “bad day” says Verstappen but Horner believes they can be “very competitive”
- McLaren drivers surprised by “very, very quick” Ferraris at Silverstone
- Norris ends Friday practice at Silverstone quickest ahead of the Ferraris