Lewis Hamilton believes the British Grand Prix would “be a really special place” to claim his first Formula 1 podium with Ferrari, and that driving out of the pits in red will “hit me a little bit”.
The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion will compete in front of his home crowd this weekend at Silverstone, a venue where he has taken a record nine wins.
Hamilton also enters this weekend off his equal best result in a Grand Prix since joining Ferrari at the start of 2025, finishing fourth in Austria, and the 40-year-old believes another strong showing might be possible.
“I think on a dry day McLaren will walk off into the distance, as you’ve seen in the past races, but you never know here what’s going to happen with the wind, with the rain,” he said during Thursday’s media day. “The crowd makes a massive difference. I’m hoping they edge us a little bit closer.”
Hamilton’s last Grand Prix victory came 12 months ago in his swansong season for Mercedes as he beat the faster McLarens in a race impacted by rain.
While the Briton won the Sprint in China this term, he has yet to stand on the podium for the Scuderia on a Sunday and believes doing so in front of his home crowd would be the ideal time.
He said: “I’m just hoping for a strong weekend. I’ve not had a podium yet, this would be a really special place in order to have that so I’m really counting on the amazing support we have here to hopefully make the difference.”
Team mate Charles Leclerc claimed third place in Austria last weekend, his fourth podium of the season as the 2025 campaign approaches the halfway point.
Ferrari’s last win at Silverstone came in 2022 courtesy of Carlos Sainz, and Leclerc believes although victory might not come this weekend, one is not far away.
“We are quite satisfied, improving step by step,” he said. “Not satisfied yet as [the] end target is to win races, but this race we were competitive at in the past and Lewis has been exceptional here. Been a long time since we last fought for victory, hope this is the one.”
