Martin Brundle says 47-podium F1 driver had one of his ‘worst races’ ever at the British Grand Prix

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The British Grand Prix produced a chaotic race at Silverstone, as unpredictable conditions led to a significant mix-up in the results.

However, normality resumed at the front as McLaren cruised to their fifth one-two finish of the 2025 season. Oscar Piastri had been leading for most of the race after overtaking Max Verstappen.

But Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty for excessive braking under the safety car, which caused Verstappen to overtake him briefly. The Aussie served the penalty with a late pit stop, allowing Lando Norris to win his first British Grand Prix.

Verstappen spun at Stowe corner on that safety car restart, but drove incredibly well in the tricky conditions, whilst also complaining about his car, to finish P5. But he finished almost a minute behind Norris as Nico Hulkenberg finally achieved his first F1 podium after 239 races.

Lewis Hamilton came agonisingly close to ending his wait for a top-three finish for Ferrari as a mistake with his final pit stop left him settling for fourth. While the seven-time champion will be disappointed, it was a significantly better afternoon than teammate Charles Leclerc.

Martin Brundle says Charles Leclerc had one of his ‘worst races’ ever at the British Grand Prix

The Monegasque driver had displayed strong pace in practice, topping FP2. Ferrari looked to have the speed to match McLaren for pole position, but Hamilton and Leclerc had to settle for the third row of the grid.

The latter was one of five drivers to pit under the formation lap for slick tyres as the track was beginning to dry. But Leclerc was ‘undone’ by the pit stop as a virtual safety car caused by Liam Lawson prolonged the damp conditions before a rain shower hit, forcing him to stop for intermediates.

From there, it was a disaster for Leclerc, as two collisions with Carlos Sainz left him limping at the back. He again struggled on dry tyres in the final stages as he finished 14th, second-to-last ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.

Leclerc, who has 47 podiums in his F1 career, matched his finish at Silverstone last season, marking his joint-third lowest finish for Ferrari. Writing in his column for Sky Sports, pundit Martin Brundle labelled the British GP as one of his ‘worst races’ ever.

Discussing Ferrari, he said: “Hamilton had a solid run to fourth place again, and he outperformed his teammate Leclerc all weekend. Lewis looked to be struggling a lot in the heavy rain and poor visibility but recovered that well when conditions calmed down.

“Leclerc said his more extreme car set-up of late didn’t work well at all in those grip levels in what must be one of his worst races for Ferrari.”

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Lewis Hamilton outperforms Charles Leclerc as Ferrari suffer more disappointment

With Silverstone officially marking the halfway point of the 2025 season, Ferrari’s chances of a title are all but over. The Maranello outfit are already 238 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship.

Leclerc’s pointless finish at the British GP leaves him 115 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings, while Hamilton moves to within 16 points of his teammate. Silverstone was only the second time the Brit beat the Monegasque driver in 2025.

Leclerc said Hamilton was the only positive for Ferrari at Silverstone as he brought his SF-25 close to a podium. Despite his efforts in the tricky conditions, Hamilton felt the race was ‘pretty bad’, claiming the team missed a big opportunity.

But it was a much better weekend for Hamilton than his teammate, who made a mistake in qualifying that denied a front-row start, before having a miserable Grand Prix. Leclerc had an explosive rant over the radio on Saturday; he will need to have a dramatic improvement next time in Spa.