Lewis Hamilton reflects on British GP qualifying: ‘vale corner cost me pole’
Lewis Hamilton Reflects on Lost Pole at British Grand Prix After Vale Corner Struggles
SILVERSTONE, England – Hopes of a commanding pole position at the British Grand Prix slipped through Lewis Hamilton’s fingers on Saturday, with the seven-time world champion pinpointing Silverstone's Vale corner as the moment his lap came undone.
Hamilton will start from fifth on the grid in Sunday’s highly anticipated race after narrowly missing out on the top spot by just 0.203 seconds to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Despite showing strong pace throughout the session, the Briton’s final sector cost him valuable time, leaving him behind four competitors on the starting lineup.
"I just had understeer at Turn 16," Hamilton explained during his post-qualifying remarks. "That lost me the time that I had. It probably cost me at least second [place]."
Car Performance and Limitations
The Scuderia Ferrari driver elaborated that understeer—a tendency for the car to resist turning into lower-speed corners—is an inherent characteristic of the team’s 2023 challenger. Though Hamilton has pushed the limits of the car in qualifying, it appears there’s only so far it can safely go.
"I think at the end we've got low-speed understeer, which is something that's inherent with this car," Hamilton said. "I think we're overdriving to get that extra bit of time. On actual pure pace, I don't think the car is as quick as [Red Bull's]. So we're probably having to go a little bit too far over, which is where the car's super peaky.
"So we need a little bit more performance."
Signs of Progress
Despite his disappointment on Saturday, Hamilton remains optimistic about Ferrari’s steady progress in recent rounds. He highlighted a valuable upgrade introduced at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, with improvements to the car’s floor marking a step in the right direction.
"We are making progress. There's still more to make, but we obviously had the upgrade in the last race," Hamilton noted. "We are improving our process, the way we go about our weekends. I definitely feel like we're punching out better results. So we've got to keep pushing.
"I'm pleased with the progress. I'm really pleased with the direction. My engineer, Ricardo [Adami], and I have been really gelling a lot better in terms of how we set the car up. I was much happier in the car. The lap was really, really nice. Up until the last corner, there was a bit of understeer. It was the curb that put me a little wide, but then I just lost it."
Leclerc’s Self-Critique
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, will line up next to him in sixth for Sunday’s race. The Monegasque driver was quick to take accountability for his own underwhelming showing in qualifying, expressing his dissatisfaction with himself.
"I need to be better," Leclerc admitted post-session.
Looking Ahead to Sunday
With both Ferrari drivers lying in the shadow of Verstappen and the Red Bull juggernaut, Sunday’s race will pose challenges but also opportunities for Hamilton and Leclerc to capitalize on strategy and racecraft in front of the passionate British crowd.
For Hamilton, the quest for his home Grand Prix triumph remains alive—but delivering the ultimate result will depend on overcoming the shortcomings that plagued his qualifying session.
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