Lewis Hamilton, Silverstone and the British Grand Prix. No driver has been more successful at their home race, no driver has been more successful at one F1 venue, and certainly few in the sport’s history have received quite the same level of long-time adulation from a crowd.
And it is the storied home of British motorsport that welcomes F1 again this weekend as the 2025 season – Hamilton’s first in Ferrari red – reaches its halfway point.
The last two races have been won by Brits – Mercedes’ George Russell in Canada and McLaren’s Lando Norris in Austria – but Ferrari are the one ‘big four’ team without a Grand Prix victory for either of their drivers after 11 rounds, while Hamilton is also still searching for his maiden Sunday podium at his new team.
But a year after taking a record ninth victory at Silverstone amid some of the most emotional scenes of his career, what chance home turf again proving the scene of another notable milestone?
Hamilton pinpoints area to improve after Ferrari’s Austria gains
Ferrari certainly head for Hamilton’s home race on the back of a morale-boosting showing in Austria, when their underperforming SF-25 car debuted an upgraded floor.
While no single upgrade is likely to absolutely transform a team’s fortunes from one weekend to another in what is now the fourth and final year of F1’s current rules cycle, the changes Ferrari introduced underneath their car last week certainly did seem to have a positive influence on performance, as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc agreed.
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Sky Sports F1 pundits Ted Kravitz and Bernie Collins talk us through Ferrari’s ‘big upgrade’ for the Austrian Grand Prix.
On a weekend Mercedes wilted in the heat and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen saw his podium prospects wrecked by factors outside of his control, Ferrari were consistently the second-fastest team behind championship leaders McLaren and duly took home third and fourth-place finishes in the race.
It was again Leclerc who lead the way for the Scuderia, qualifying on the front row before finishing third – his third podium visit in the last four races, and fourth overall in 2025.
Hamilton’s wait for a podium return now stretches to a career-worst 13 races but he could also point to personal progress with Ferrari’s car on the way to his fourth place in Austria.
He qualified just 0.090s slower than his team-mate – giving him his first second-row starting berth for a Grand Prix this year – and finished in the same position to match his best race finish from Imola in May.
Interestingly, however, although it has been Hamilton’s persistent issues in qualifying that have gained most attention over the past season-and-a-half at first Mercedes and now at Ferrari, the 40-year-old left Austria saying it was actually his race pace that he needed to work on most after finishing nine seconds behind Leclerc at the end of Sunday’s 70-lap contest.
“I’ll just keep working at it,” said Hamilton of his form after the race.
“I feel like I made progress this weekend.
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Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari made ‘mega progress’ this weekend, which saw the team secure a third and fourth place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I was less than a tenth off Charles in qualifying, and we found a problem through qualifying with the brakes, where I lost a tenth, so that’s positive.
“I’ve just got to find some pace for the race, but definitely improving.”
Can Hamilton maintain his unique Silverstone podium streak?
So, first of all, what chance Ferrari being genuine podium contenders again around the high-speed sweeps of Silverstone?
McLaren’s competitiveness is seemingly without question on most tracks, and they will again start as big favourites, while Ferrari can also expect increased competition from their two other front-running rivals compared to Austria.
Mercedes, Silverstone polesitters with Russell and winners with Hamilton last year, should welcome the fact that the UK’s heatwave is set to subside – there is even the chance of showers over the weekend – while Red Bull’s best form this year has been on tracks featuring fast turns.
For all that, Ferrari will still hope their step forward in pace from the last event will prove a solid foundation on which to build ahead of further expected upgrades to the car before F1’s summer break next month.
Then there is an undoubted ‘Hamilton factor’ to consider.
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Listen back to Lewis Hamilton’s emotional team radio after he won the British GP for Mercedes last year
If there was any doubt left that the seven-time champion manages to generally find something a little special for his annual Silverstone homecoming – even in the context of more difficult seasons – then the events of 2024 surely put that to bed.
Hamilton arrived at last July’s British GP having gone 56 races since December 2021 without a victory, and having only finished on the podium once in the previous 14 races, yet produced a virtuoso Sunday drive in wet-dry conditions to seize a race win that ranked as one of the very best of his career.
It was not only a record-extending ninth win at the British GP – the first time any driver had won the same race that many times too – but one which carried particular emotional significance.
Speaking afterwards, Hamilton admitted: “There’s definitely been moments where you know, the thought that this was it, that that was never going to happen again. So to have this feeling come across the line, I think, honestly, I’ve never cried coming from a win. It just came out of me.
“And it’s a really, really great feeling. I’m very, very grateful for it.”
The win meant the Briton emphatically extended another proud Silverstone record – a podium-finishing streak that stretches back to 2014.
In a unique feat at any Grand Prix, Hamilton has finished on the last 11 British GP podiums – and 12 in a row at Silverstone in all counting the second race that the venue held (the 70th Anniversary GP) in 2020’s Covid-hit campaign.
Underlining his stunning home record, only 35 drivers in the sport’s history have won more anywhere combined in their careers on the calendar than Hamilton has at Silverstone.
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It was a dramatic final lap for Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 British GP as he limped home to victory with a puncture.
“We are coming to Silverstone which is a Lewis Hamilton track,” said Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
“Wouldn’t the crowd go absolutely mad if he won there?”
Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule
The 2025 British Grand Prix is live on Sky Sports F1
Thursday July 3
2pm: Drivers’ Press Conference
6pm: The F1 Show Special
Friday July 4
8.45am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: British GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.35pm: British GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the British Grand Prix.
Saturday July 5
9.10am: F3 Sprint
11.15pm: British GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*
4.55pm: F4 Race 1
5.40pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 6
8.15am: F4 Race 2
9.25am: F3 Feature Race
11am: F2 Feature Race
1.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction*
6pm: Ted’s Notebook*
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with coverage from Thursday to Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
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