For the first time since 2013, Lewis Hamilton had to watch the podium celebrations at Silverstone from elsewhere.
That year he finished fourth, and during his first visit to the British Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, he had to settle for that result once again.
Hamilton was very positive heading into the race after a strong performance in qualifying.
Martin Brundle spotted Hamilton attempt the impossible on his way to starting fifth, although the margin to pole-sitter Max Verstappen was only a couple of tenths of a second.
The name of the game on Sunday was strategy and being on the right tyres at the right time.
Charles Leclerc had a nightmare race and, for the second year in a row at Silverstone, he got caught out by the weather.
Hamilton fared much better to give himself a fighting chance of securing his first podium as a Scuderia driver but ultimately was left disappointed by the time he reached the chequered flag.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton laments British Grand Prix opportunity ‘missed’ during unheard final radio message
Hamilton got stuck in several midfield battles on his way to reaching fourth before he attempted to chase down the impressive Nico Hulkenberg.
While the Sauber driver got stuck behind Lance Stroll for several laps, Hamilton passed the Canadian with ease, and for a few laps was within Hulkenberg’s DRS.
However, he started to slip back and decided to pit for soft tyres a lap earlier than his German rival.
That proved to be crucial and handed Hulkenberg a much larger lead, even though Sauber had a slightly sloppy stop.
Hulkenberg and Hamilton traded fastest laps for a time, but the Ferrari driver couldn’t do anything to stop him from earning his first career podium.
His race engineer Riccardo Adami said on the team radio after the race: “That’s a P4 mate, good job out there, well managed.”
Hamilton replied: “Well, mate, that was pretty bad overall.
“So much opportunity today that was missed. Thank you, we’ll continue to push.
“And thanks to this mega crowd here, sorry I couldn’t bring it home.”
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Hamilton’s frustration is understandable considering how important the British Grand Prix is to him and his fans.
He’s currently on his longest streak in his Formula 1 career without a podium and will believe that a golden chance to end that run was presented to him on Sunday.
Ferrari are set to introduce a new rear suspension to Hamilton’s car before the summer break, which should give him an additional level of performance.
He appears to be much closer to Leclerc’s level on a more regular basis right now, which team principal Fred Vasseur will be very encouraged by.
Nigel Mansell thinks Hamilton is gaining momentum at Ferrari, and it won’t be long at this rate until he returns to a Formula 1 podium.
