Ferrari ‘love’ Lewis Hamilton as insider reveals ‘balance’ shift facing Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton is growing into a beloved figure at Ferrari, the seven-time world champion placed “on a pedestal” by Ferrari personnel and the Italian press.

That is the claim made by former long-serving Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley, who remains well-connected with the team. Smedley spoke of a “balance” shift taking place at Ferrari, one which the Brit says is “not very nice” for Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton balance shift ‘not nice’ for Charles Leclerc

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After a very challenging start to his Ferrari tenure, there are strong signs that Hamilton is starting to turn the tide.

Back-to-back P2 finishes in Montreal and Monaco were followed by his first grand prix win as a Ferrari driver in Barcelona.

Leclerc, meanwhile, suffered a late DNF, allowing Hamilton to move 40 points ahead of his teammate in the drivers’ standings.

Leclerc debuted for Ferrari in 2019 as a product of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He went on to establish a reputation as something of a poster boy for the Scuderia, and the team’s leading hope to end its wait for fresh title success, ongoing since 2008.

Only recently did Leclerc sign a new Ferrari contract, committing his long-term future to the team, further strengthening this partnership.

Yet Smedley, who was a part of Ferrari between 2004-13, claims that Hamilton is now “corralling the team around him” and feeling the love.

This, he says, is “not very nice” for Leclerc to be experiencing.

“You can’t say that Lewis is going to spank him every single weekend, that would be ridiculous,” Smedley began while speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast.

“But if you look at the balance of performance between the two drivers… and this is a Lewis now that is corralling the team around him.

“Everything that I see when I read the Italian newspapers or I talk to my mates in Ferrari, they all love him. They’re all putting him on a pedestal. He’s getting better and better and better.

“I think the balance, at the minute, it’s not very nice for Charles.

“Lewis is way ahead of him over the last few races.”

Smedley does, however, expect Leclerc to regain his footing in this intra-team Ferrari battle, even if he is backing Hamilton for the overall win.

“But what will happen is that it will be more balanced towards the end of the season,” Smedley continued.

“But I just think that Lewis will nick it.”

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Despite his recent run of strong form and landmark Barcelona win, Hamilton has warned that Ferrari still has work to do if it wants to claim victories regularly and challenge for the titles.

Hamilton became the first non-Mercedes grand prix winner of the season in Barcelona.

Whether Ferrari can end F1 2026 as the benchmark is impossible to say right now, according to Smedley.

But he spoke of the excitement enveloping F1 2026, as the pecking order continues to shift with teams bringing regular upgrades in the early stages of these regulations.

“Ferrari had a very, very good car in Monte Carlo,” said Smedley.

“You saw them with a decent car, they brought a package to Barcelona, and it was a very good car.

“Now, will they have the best car at the end of the season? Maybe, maybe not. It would be ridiculous to try and call that here now, because everybody is in this very early stages of development.

“But things are changing. Things will continue to change throughout the season, and it’s exciting, it’s good for the fans.”

Next up is the Austrian Grand Prix, a race which Hamilton and Leclerc have each won once, Hamilton in 2016 and Leclerc in 2022.

Hamilton is a two-time winner at the Red Bull Ring, if you include his 2020 Styrian Grand Prix triumph at the venue.

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