Smedley was at Ferrari between 2004 and 2014, notably as Felipe Massa’s charismatic race engineer.
He joined Ferrari on the finish of Schumacher’s dominance, with 2004 the 12 months he gained his seventh world title.
A 12 months later, Ferrari might solely declare one victory, dropping to 3rd place within the championship behind Renault and McLaren.
Talking on the newest episode of the Sky Sports activities F1 podcast, Smedley was requested concerning the affect a driver can have on the staff and the way he ought to react if his automobile will not be on the degree he anticipated.
Smedley revealed that even in “tough occasions” Schumacher by no means complained “even in non-public” as he remained loyal to his staff.
His feedback might apply to Lewis Hamilton, who has been extremely important of Mercedes in current weeks, regardless of producing eight award-winning vehicles in a row between 2014 and 2021.
“Michael by way of all of the robust occasions. I by no means as soon as noticed him privately complaining about people or complaining in a manner that did not create what I name constructive battle,” Smedley mentioned. .
“That it wasn’t a constructive assessment to say we now have an issue, let’s simply be clear about this downside, however let’s all go on this route. He had full confidence within the technical staff and this confidence was confirmed. So when he needed to undergo the lows, he was there to encourage and assist the staff.
“To say ‘it is good, I belief you, I do know you are going to produce an excellent automobile’. And at last, we produced good vehicles, we produced vehicles worthy of successful world championships.
Smedley believes the drivers “should not flip in opposition to the staff” in the event that they fail to provide a title-challenging automobile.
“After we have been successful 15 out of 17 races or no matter, speaking about it good and the way nice the tradition was and the way nice we have been all patting one another on the again each 5 minutes – that is straightforward “, he added. “When you get into these robust occasions, that is if you see the true character of the staff and the people come out. The drivers have a key function to play in that.
“After a 12 months of difficulties, or a interval, we should not flip in opposition to the staff and inform them that every thing is their fault. It’s unfair. The staff has to supply the drivers – the highest three or 4 drivers in F1 – they need to have an incredible automobile, however you additionally need to have a degree of realism in you could’t have the very best automobile in each one grand prix, one 12 months, that is simply not potential.
“Have a look at what Mercedes goes by way of this 12 months and final 12 months. In some unspecified time in the future somebody hungrier and higher will come alongside and produce a sooner automobile.
