Lewis Hamilton finished third in the British Grand Prix after struggling with understeer caused by a pre-race front wing adjustment. His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc won the race. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli took victory in the earlier sprint.
Hamilton secured pole for the sprint race on Friday but faced balance issues on Sunday. He removed front wing load before the race to address oversteer, resulting in significant understeer during the opening stint.
"I was completely missing the front end," Hamilton said. "We went too low on the front wing and that is my responsibility and that of the engineering team."
Leclerc added front load and built a 10-second lead over Hamilton early on. Hamilton made mid-stint adjustments to the differential but could not close the gap fully.
Pirelli motorsport chief Dario Maraffuschi noted that understeer stresses the front tyres and increases wear. Hamilton ended the race third behind Leclerc.
