Follow us on Google Discover Rob Smedley knows how it feels to win and lose with Ferrari in Formula 1.
After joining Ferrari at the beginning of the 2004 season, Rob Smedley was on hand to witness Michael Schumacher’s final drivers’ championship victory.
Smedley then became Felipe Massa’s race engineer and witnessed how heartbreaking F1 can be.
Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 title after overtaking Timo Glock, denying Massa what would have been his only title in front of hundreds of thousands of Brazilian fans at Interlagos.
Although Massa didn’t win the individual title that year, it was the last time Ferrari won the constructors’ championship.
FERRARI F1 DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSYEARAlberto Ascari1952Alberto Ascari1953Juan-Manuel Fangio1956Mike Hawthorn1958Phil Hill1961John Surtees1964Niki Lauda1975Niki Lauda1977Jody Scheckter1979Michael Schumacher2000Michael Schumacher2001Michael Schumacher2002Michael Schumacher2003Michael Schumacher2004Kimi Raikkonen2007Ferrari’s Formula 1 drivers’ champions
Since then, various team principals have chased that feeling, and Fred Vasseur is the latest person in that position.
However, Vasseur is beginning to come under pressure despite recently signing a new contract, with Christian Horner recently linked to Ferrari after his Red Bull exit.
Smedley has now described how Ferrari have previously reacted when results haven’t been going their way and what they must avoid doing now, otherwise they’ll fall into the same traps again.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Photo by Wan Mikhail Roslan/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesRob Smedley details how the pressure builds within Ferrari as F1 title wait goes on
Smedley was asked about Ferrari’s issues on the F1 Nation Podcast, having lived through them during his time with the team, and he said: “It’s not a great place to be in Maranello when things aren’t going well and there isn’t a clear way out.
“And I think this is where the team itself can put an inordinate amount of pressure on itself. And then you just get into this vicious circle where it’s just so difficult to get out because you start to think in the short term and not in the long term.
“Once you start thinking about the next race and that and have the whole operation concentrating on what’s happening tomorrow and how to find that three-tenths tomorrow, you’re dead in the water, right?
“What happens in Maranello, and I’ve seen it myself, when the pressure of not winning and being on the back foot arises, there’s a tendency that the team can start to think in the very short term.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 650 2 325 3 300 4 290 5 102 6 72 7 66 8 55 9 46 10 20
“It will never work, right? I’ve been there, it was exactly the same as when Red Bull started dominating or Red Bull started beating us, when we brought in the 2009 KERS cars, 2009, 2010, 2011, those years when we were always there, always there or thereabouts, we just needed one, two, three tenths, and we probably would have been able to be back in front.
“But we were always looking at how to get three tenths tomorrow?
“When McLaren suddenly started to become very competitive in 2023, it was because of a two-year plan beforehand. And I think this is where Ferrari are at now, the pressure will be immense.
“Once the infighting and the instability within the team start to arise, and you start to think Has this guy got my back? Has that guy got my back? You’re dead in the water.
“So, let’s hope they can get through it.”
READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer makes one surprising omission when naming his best three F1 drivers of 2025
Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton still looking to improve after maiden 2025 campaign
Hamilton is currently sitting 48 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc with six race weekends to go.
It’s taken him a long time to get used to his new surroundings after spending more than a decade at Mercedes, but the margins are so fine that the seven-time world champion can’t afford not to be at 100%.
CategoryLewis HamiltonCharles Leclerc2025 points125173Grand Prix results*313Grand Prix qualifying513Grand Prix wins00Grand Prix poles01Grand Prix podiums05Best finish4th2ndDisqualifications11Retirements11Retirements (classified finish)00Fastest laps10Grand Prix points finishes1515Sprint results21Sprint Qualifying12Sprint wins10Sprint poles10Sprint podiums20The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
*Both Ferrari drivers were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix
Vasseur has told Ferrari where they and Hamilton need to improve, and the upcoming winter break should give the 40-year-old more time to adapt.
However, if the processes behind the scenes aren’t correct, then no matter what Hamilton does, he won’t be a championship contender.
It’s now up to Vasseur to take Smedley’s advice, look beyond a disappointing 2025 campaign and fully concentrate on next year and beyond.