Lewis Hamilton Struggles with Ferrari in Wet-Dry British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton describes the Ferrari as 'unbelievably tricky to drive' in the wet-dry conditions at the British Grand Prix, finishing fourth at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton faced significant challenges driving the Ferrari in the wet-dry conditions at the British Grand Prix, describing it as 'the most difficult car I've driven in these conditions.' The seven-time champion finished fourth at Silverstone, behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The race began on a damp track, which dried slightly before a heavy rain shower, and then dried again. Hamilton, who has won a record nine British Grands Prix, remarked, 'The car was unbelievably tricky to drive. I think ultimately I learned a lot today, there's lots to take from the day.' He added, 'It's only my second time driving in the wet in this car. I can't even express to you how hard it is. It's not a car that likes those conditions.'

Hamilton emphasized the importance of collaborating with the car designers for next year, stating, 'For me, (it's important) to sit down with the people that are designing the car for next year. Because there's elements of this car that cannot go into the following year.'

Looking ahead, Hamilton mentioned that Ferrari has upgrades planned for the car in forthcoming races, following a new floor introduced at the previous race in Austria. The 40-year-old driver expressed his desire for 'a consistent balance, a car that turns at a low speed, just a more stable car.'

Despite the challenges, Hamilton remained optimistic, noting, 'We were looking great through this weekend. In practice, we were always right up there. Still weren't able to fully extract everything in qualifying. And then the race is a little bit harder. So that's where I want to get stronger.'

Hamilton's third fourth-place finish of the season means he has yet to secure a podium since joining Ferrari at the start of this season. Meanwhile, teammate Charles Leclerc finished second-last in 14th after making the wrong call to switch to slick tyres on a damp track after the formation lap. Leclerc admitted, 'We were kind of nowhere the whole race, and when I say nowhere it's like really nowhere, I was a second off (the pace) and on top of that I was doing lots of mistakes.'

Team principal Frederic Vasseur acknowledged the difficulties, stating, 'The main issue we had today was that we struggled a lot when we were in the dirty air to overtake. We spent our lives overtaking sometimes 10 laps and then we were much faster. I think it was a difficult weekend, difficult for the strategy.'

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