Lewis Hamilton’s long-awaited breakthrough victory for Ferrari may have been celebrated around the Formula 1 world, but according to former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley, the loudest cheers were coming from inside Maranello itself.
After a difficult debut campaign in red that left many questioning whether the seven-time world champion could ever truly flourish at Ferrari, Hamilton has engineered a remarkable turnaround.
Consecutive runner-up finishes in Monaco and Canada laid the foundation, before a commanding victory in Barcelona confirmed that both driver and team are finally moving in the same direction.
For Smedley, who spent nearly a decade at Ferrari and remains in close contact with former colleagues, the mood inside the Scuderia has shifted dramatically.
Ferrari falling for Hamilton
“Everybody’s very pleased,” Smedley said of the response inside Ferrari. “I’m on lots of chat groups with all of my old colleagues and they’re all literally over the moon with Lewis – they just love him.
“We talked about this, [that] this could be a Michael story, of how Lewis… If he can get on top of the car, and he can lift the team, and he can start winning races, and he can guide them towards World Championships, they will absolutely love him.”
The comparison is a significant one. Schumacher’s arrival at Ferrari in the 1990s helped transform the team into a dominant force, with the German becoming the central figure of one of the sport’s greatest dynasties.
While Hamilton is only at the beginning of his Ferrari journey, Smedley believes the ingredients are emerging for a similarly powerful relationship between driver and team.
The work behind the success
Smedley also pushed back against perceptions that Hamilton’s success is built solely on natural talent, arguing that the Briton’s relentless commitment is often overlooked.
“He puts so much effort in, right? People always misunderstand Lewis, because of the shell that he’s created around himself with his public persona,” he explained.
“All the guys, funnily enough, Max [Verstappen], Lewis, Michael, Sebastian [Vettel], all of those guys who are greats, they work harder and put more of themselves into it to get to the positions that they’re in.
“When you put yourself into anything, especially winning a Grand Prix, when you put all of yourself into it and you keep failing, but you keep coming back, and you keep trying... Eventually when it happens, it’s like an outpouring of emotions.”
That emotional release was evident after Hamilton’s victory in Spain, a result that followed months of adaptation, setbacks and growing pains.
‘Putting him on a pedestal’
Perhaps most revealing was Smedley’s assessment of Hamilton’s influence behind the scenes.
“If you look at the balance of performance between the two drivers, and this is a Lewis now that is corralling the team around him… Everything that I see when I read the Italian newspapers or I talk to my mates in Ferrari, they all love him, they’re all putting him on a pedestal,” said Smedley.
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“He’s getting better and better and better, and I think the balance… At the minute it’s not very nice for Charles, Lewis is way ahead of him over the last few races. What will happen is it will be more balanced towards the end of the season, but I just think that Lewis will nick it.”
For Ferrari, Hamilton’s first victory may prove to be more than just another race win. If Smedley’s insight is accurate, the Briton is not only winning on track – he is winning over the hearts and minds of the people tasked with bringing Ferrari back to championship glory.
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