Lewis Hamilton escape penalty but says all the magic he had on Friday in Silverstone disappeared

That may be a harsh assessment, as the Ferrari driver did manage to finish the Sprint Race in second place and the Grand Prix in third, but the fact remains that he couldn't recapture the magic that saw him win his final British Grand Prix with Mercedes in 2024 despite not being competitive that season, not to mention his 2020 win on three wheels when his tyre failed on the last lap but with enough margin for him to cross the finish line.

Hamilton has a special relationship with Silverstone with his nine wins there, and while it appeared win #10 was probable on Friday, the story panned out quite differently.

In the race, he lacked pace while also being slapped with a five-second penalty for a false start. He was also summoned to see the stewards after the race for a Yellow Flag infringement.

"Congrats to Charles," Hamilton said. He did a great job. All the magic I had on Friday just disappeared through the weekend.

"I'm probably going to get a penalty," he said of his investigation. "The FIA often have to react... I went through a yellow flag and didn't see it. So a jump start, yellow flag [infringement]. When it rains, it pours.

"I've just been to see them but don't have an answer, but I will probably get a penalty, I'm sure," he reckoned.

As it turned out, Hamilton did not get a penalty, as the stewards saw that a reprimand was enough, and he kept P3.

Hamilton radioed during the race, reporting understeer on his SF-26 and that it wouldn't turn; he said after the race: "I was just lacking front end. We massively under-egged it on the front wing. That's my fault and the engineer's fault.

Hamilton remains third in the 2026 F1 Drivers' Championship, seven points behind George Russell in second and 32 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, who failed to score in Silverstone on Sunday due to car trouble. (Source: Sky Sports F1)