Hamilton admits key mistake behind lost 'magic' at Silverstone: 'That's my fault'

The Briton claimed pole position for the Sprint before finishing second in the Sprint race, beaten only by the superior pace of Kimi Antonelli while still showing strong race speed. In qualifying for the Grand Prix, however, Hamilton was unable to match his teammate, finishing third before taking the same position in the race, while Leclerc secured victory to draw level on wins for the season so far.

Ferrari also had the opportunity to secure a one-two finish after the issue that struck Kimi Antonelli. However, the decision to pit Hamilton in the closing stages ultimately worked in George Russell's favour, given that the race later finished behind the Safety Car.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, the seven-time world champion admitted the pace he had shown on Friday disappeared over the rest of the weekend. He explained that he struggled with a lack of front-end grip and acknowledged that both he and the engineers had been too conservative with the front wing setup, accepting responsibility for the mistake.

Ferrari's victory at Silverstone was also made possible by the front wheel shield issue that forced Kimi Antonelli out of contention, adding to the misfortune he had already suffered in Barcelona, where he retired in the closing stages due to an electric shutdown.

Hamilton believes Mercedes' power unit reliability issues are likely to result in grid penalties later in the season, something he expects could benefit his title challenge. He pointed out that engines have experienced more problems this year than usual and suggested that, given the limited number of battery units available, penalties are likely to become unavoidable. Hamilton added that Ferrari's priority is to keep maximising every opportunity and score as many points as possible, even on weekends when victory is out of reach.

"You're seeing engines in general have had more issues this year than they normally would have, and don't know what the situation with on the battery side of this for George and for Kimi, but at some point there must be a penalty, I would imagine, in the sense that we only have two battery cells or something like that. But it's going to be key for us just holding onto this, maximising the points, executing to the best of our ability, even when it's the case that we can't win," the Ferrari driver concluded.