Lewis Hamilton Risks Losing British GP Podium

Lewis Hamilton has taken full responsibility after a false start at the British Grand Prix effectively ended his hopes of victory at Silverstone from the early phase of the race.

Hamilton started third and passed Kimi Antonelli into the first corner to move up to second behind Charles Leclerc. However, his car moved before the lights went out, leading to a five-second penalty that was served at his first pit stop.

The penalty dropped Hamilton to sixth, while he was also unable to match Leclerc’s pace at the front. The key limitation he identified was car balance, a factor that prevented him from sustaining the rhythm needed to put consistent pressure on his team-mate.

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"Firstly I have to say congratulations to Charles. Winning this grand prix is a great experience and this is a great result for our team. So congratulations to our team.

"I just didn't have it today. I jumped the start, got a five second penalty, but Charles had the pace on me today. I struggled with the balance of the car but I gave it everything and I'm grateful to be up here."

Hamilton later passed Max Verstappen on track and moved back up as both Mercedes cars encountered different issues. Although he provisionally salvaged second place, his podium remains unresolved because he is still under investigation for an alleged yellow-flag infringement.

The Silverstone result still offered an important signal for Ferrari, with Leclerc winning and Hamilton remaining in provisional podium contention. Hamilton said the performance showed Ferrari now has a platform to fight Mercedes, although he stressed that more work is still required to close the gap in pure pace.

"It looks like it. I'm not really sure what happened to Kimi. The team is doing a phenomenal job.

"We have some work still to do to really close the gap on pure performance but look at these results. Two wins for the team this year, this is fantastic."

The yellow-flag investigation now stands as the decisive factor in Hamilton’s final British GP classification. If the podium is retained, Silverstone will mark another sign that Ferrari is increasing pressure on Mercedes heading into the next phase of the season.