Ex-Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has backed Lewis Hamilton for a resurgence in this year’s Formula 1 season, believing the radical new regulations will suit him.
Hamilton won just two Grands Prix during the ground-effect era, and in his debut season with Ferrari last year, failed to score a podium finish for the first time in his career.
A self-confessed detractor of the previous rules, Hamilton has appeared buoyed by the prospects 2026 are promising, as he is happier with the new SF-26 car, due to being able to implement in his own input, and the challenge of the new rules.
Both Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc were happy and energetic in their demeanour across the two weeks of Bahrain pre-season testing, something that was severely lacking across 2025.
And Smedley, speaking in an exclusive interview with Motorsport Week, believes Hamilton, who defeated Felipe Massa to the World Championship in 2008 – when he was the Brazilian’s race engineer – has the scope to show considerable improvement from his meagre showings of last season.
“I agree, I think like Charles and Lewis have got a little bit of a spring back in this step,” he said. “I do think with the way that these cars have hit the ground running, they probably do suit Lewis a little bit. I’m not sure that he was ever comfortable with the ground-effect cars, but certainly the way that these cars have been developed from an aerodynamic point of view up to this point in time.
“They probably do suit him a little bit more, [but] let’s wait and see when we get to Australia and the first few races.”
Smedley hopeful Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari and ‘get back to the front’
With the 2026 curtain-raiser in Melbourne just hours away, the reality is that Hamilton will line-up seventh, with former team Mercedes appearing to be the dominant force after locking out the front row.
But in Bahrain, the Scuderia’s race pace looked competitive in comparison to some of its rivals, giving hope that the race may see Hamilton and Leclerc can make ground.
And Smedley is aware that the new regulations will see the landscape change throughout the season, carrying hope that Ferrari, with which he spent 10 years, will come good, as it searches for its first title since 2007.
“We’ve got to get those under our belt before we can really have a true picture, but hopefully, it would be great to see Ferrari up there at the front and [be] operated well as well,” he said.
“It’s not just about a fast car right? [It’s] about how well they operate at the track and to ensure that they’re getting the most out of it and doing the best job at the weekend as well as back in the factory, so it’ll be interesting to see you know where it shakes out in Australia.
“But I would really like to see you know them then back to the front.
“They’ve always got a special place in my heart.”
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