Former Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley has revealed how team members at his old employer view Lewis Hamilton. According to the Brit, the seven-time world champion is beloved within the Scuderia. Smedley compares it to the heyday of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari: “The guys who have been working at Ferrari for twenty years or more see the similarities between Lewis and Michael.”
Read more Andrea Stella: ‘McLaren paid a heavy price for both world titles in 2025’
Lewis Hamilton has been driving for Ferrari since 2025. After a difficult debut year at the Scuderia, the seven-time world champion has since turned things around and even stood on the top step of the podium in Ferrari red for the first time in Barcelona. According to former engineer Rob Smedley – who worked for Ferrari for ten years during Michael Schumacher’s heyday – Hamilton’s influence is giving the team a new boost.
“I want to put Lewis in the spotlight for this,” Smedley began on the High Performance Racing podcast. “It also feels like he puts the team under a lot of pressure, right? And we’ve talked about this before: when you bring in a driver of his caliber, the team immediately feels 1% more capable.”
Read more Fittipaldi hopes for a serious title hunt from Lewis Hamilton: ‘That would be great’
“They love him at Ferrari,” Smedley continued. “When I talk to the guys, one-on-one or in all the group chats I’m in, they are all completely taken with him because he performs, right? And he is a seven-time world champion and they know he is someone who can deliver results. He can still win world titles, but he also challenges them. He challenges them in the right way, and they acknowledge that.”
Michael Schumacher
The former Ferrari engineer compares the current situation at Ferrari to the heyday of Michael Schumacher at the team. The German driver won five consecutive world titles at the Scuderia between 2000 and 2004. “The guys who have been there for twenty years or more see the similarities between him (Hamilton, ed.) and Michael,” Smedley concluded.
Read more F1-CEO Domenicali does not share Flavio Briatore’s sprint ambitions: ‘Scarcity creates added value’
Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
