Overview
- Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley told the High Performance Racing podcast that Ferrari should throw its full support behind Lewis Hamilton and even consider on-track car swaps to maximise his title chances.
- Smedley framed the move as the team’s “only chance,” saying extraordinary measures may be needed because ordinary racing between teammates risks costing the best opportunity to beat Mercedes.
- After the British Grand Prix Hamilton sits 32 points behind championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli while team‑mate Charles Leclerc trails Hamilton by 39 points and Antonelli by 71 points.
- Ferrari has avoided team orders so far this season, but Smedley invoked the Schumacher-era precedent to argue a return to explicit driver prioritisation would be a decisive tactical shift.
- If Ferrari adopts a one-driver strategy it would change intra-team dynamics and the championship maths, so the next signs to watch are any official team orders or public confirmation of a shift in race strategy.