Hamilton lifts Ferrari mood at Silverstone

BBC Sport and Autosport reported Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone pace boosted Ferrari belief, even as the team feared a straight-line deficit.

Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone weekend gave Ferrari a lift after his first win for the team in Barcelona, according to BBC Sport’s coverage of the mood around the team. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, arrived at the British Grand Prix third in the 2026 drivers’ championship on 147 points.

Autosport and Motorsport.com reported that Ferrari expected to be about six tenths slower than Mercedes on the straights at Silverstone before Hamilton took sprint pole. Autosport also reported that Hamilton said those projections had “scared” him, while Motorsport.com reported that team principal Fred Vasseur played down title talk and said Ferrari should focus on Spa.

BBC Sport also reported Charles Leclerc’s criticism of Ferrari after his Monaco retirement, with the driver describing a brake issue as “borderline dangerous” on The Chequered Flag podcast. That left Ferrari’s recent progress set against continuing concerns over consistency and reliability.