Ferrari Contemplates Prioritising Hamilton Over Leclerc After Silverstone Victory

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has suggested that the team may need to prioritize seven‑time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton over Charles Leclerc if it is to realistically contend for the 2026 drivers’ title.

Smedley’s remarks followed the dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Leclerc secured an emotional triumph—his first win since 2024 and the 250th victory for Ferrari.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leads the championship standings with 179 points, followed by teammate George Russell at 154. Hamilton sits third with 147 points, comfortably within reach of the leaders, while Leclerc, the race winner, trails in fourth place with 108 points, 71 points behind Antonelli.

During a post‑race episode of the High Performance Racing podcast, Smedley argued that, despite Leclerc’s strong performance, Ferrari cannot afford vivendo a battle within the team if it aspires to challenge Mercedes effectively.

“100% agree with that. However, I am going to go against my own sense of logic and(code) say I actually think that doing something as extreme as that is the only chance Ferrari has of winning this world championship,” Smedley explained, tackling a hypothetical scenario in which the cars are swapped on track during the British Grand Prix to benefit the championship. الجنس

“I think that if they play the game of trying to outpace Mercedes in car terms, and then they play the game of allowing the drivers to race each other with such a large gap between Lewis and Charles, the json probability significantly diminishes for them to win the drivers’ world championship.”, he added.

“So, I think that although it goes against my logic, there are too many variables coming up. So why would you ever do it? But I think that is the one and only strategy that they’ve got of Lewis winning this world championship.”, Smedley concluded.

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