Lewis Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season brought significant difficulties, according to former F1 race engineer Rob Smedley. The seven-time world champion, who left Mercedes after a highly successful tenure, struggled throughout his first year at the Italian team, failing to secure a single podium finish—a first in his career. These challenges highlight the complexities behind Hamilton’s adjustment to Ferrari’s distinct environment and operations.
How Past Experience Affected Hamilton’s Adaptation
Rob Smedley, who spent many years working within Formula 1 teams including Ferrari, explained that Hamilton’s problems were largely related to his familiarity with Mercedes’ way of working. Hamilton had built a close relationship with his previous team, particularly with his race engineer Pete, which created a comfortable and effective partnership. Smedley remarked that drivers often grow accustomed to certain processes, making it difficult to quickly adapt when switching teams.
“Lewis is a driver who leans heavily on his relationship with the team, and in particular, his race engineer,”
Smedley said on the RacingNews365 podcast.
“He had a great relationship with Pete. You see this time and time again with drivers – Mercedes fit him like an old slipper, and then he’s gone to a different team with different ways of doing it, not better, not worse, just different ways of doing things. I’ve even had that as an engineer, you move teams and it takes some time to adapt, because the automatic assumption that you make is ‘why can’t they just do it how I’m used to, because that would be more comfortable for me? But that’s not always the most optimised way for that team to do it.”
This dissonance between familiar routines at Mercedes and Ferrari’s different methods created a significant adjustment period for Hamilton. As Smedley added, the stress of this transition played a major role in Hamilton’s difficult season.
“It’s not as comfortable as it was at Mercedes. The stress of adaptation has played quite a big part.”
Impact of Race Engineer Changes and Team Dynamics
Over the winter break, Hamilton made personal changes, including ending his partnership with race engineer Riccardo Adami. Ferrari has yet to confirm a permanent replacement, a situation drawing criticism from experts who believe such stability is essential for a driver to achieve peak performance. The loss of that close working relationship further complicated Hamilton’s integration into the new team.
With a full season now behind him at Ferrari, Smedley expressed cautious optimism about Hamilton’s prospects moving forward. He compared the adaptation process to changing companies in a regular job setting, emphasizing the need for both the individual and the organization to adjust.
“If I can go and work in an office from nine to five and switch companies, I have to adapt right to the way that company works. That company, to a certain extent, has to adapt to me, depending on my seniority. So you imagine trying to do that as an F1 driver with seven world championships under your belt – that stress of adaptation is high and has definitely played a role here.”
Future Expectations for Hamilton’s Performance at Ferrari
Smedley believes that with time, Hamilton and Ferrari will develop a stronger working relationship, leading to improved competitiveness and mental clarity for the driver. Building mutual understanding within the team, particularly with a new race engineer, could restore Hamilton’s confidence and performance to levels more consistent with his past achievements.
“I hope that this year, the two sides, there’s going to be more of a gelling and we’re going to see Lewis back in a much better headspace and a much better place in terms of competition as well.”
As the new F1 season begins, all eyes will be on Hamilton and Ferrari to see whether this anticipated improvement materializes. How effectively they manage this critical phase could define Hamilton’s legacy with the Italian outfit and influence Ferrari’s overall campaign.
