Ferrari engineers 'shrugged their shoulders' over Hamilton's sim call, reveals Smedley

Back in Miami, Hamilton had already revealed that he no longer planned to rely on the simulator as part of his race-weekend preparation. Since then, the early signs have done little to challenge that decision, with some of his strongest performances of the year coming without any simulator work beforehand. The seven-time world champion secured his first podium of the season in Shanghai during the first race weekend in which he opted not to use the simulator, before repeating the feat in Montreal to claim his second podium since joining Ferrari.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Smedley revealed that he had spoken to several people within Ferrari about Hamilton's decision to skip simulator work, but received little more than shrugged shoulders in response: "I spoke to a couple of guys there who kind of shrugged their shoulders when I asked about it.

After the race in Canada, Hamilton explained that two of his strongest performances came on weekends when he hadn't used the simulator at all, insisting it has never been an essential part of his preparation. While he acknowledged it can be a valuable tool, he admitted he has always preferred a more traditional approach and feels he performs better without relying on it.

That said, he believes the simulator can still play an important role when it comes to analysing data and comparing it with what happens on track. According to Hamilton, post-race correlation work could help identify areas where the car is falling short, as reserve and simulator drivers can only provide feedback based on their own experience. Ultimately, he stressed that only he and Leclerc have first-hand knowledge of how the Ferrari behaves in real racing conditions.

Hamilton stressed that one of the biggest advantages of driving the actual car is being able to provide engineers with accurate, first-hand feedback on its behaviour and limitations. He explained that this allows him to pinpoint exactly what is lacking and helps the team focus its development efforts in the right areas: “The positive of something like being able to drive the real car is going back and saying: this is actually what it feels like, these are the things that we're missing, so that we can improve it. I'm always there to help the team move forward and develop it. Now, whether or not I use it to prepare for another race, probably not. It's just too many risks.”

Monaco’s tight, low-speed layout magnifies the value of qualifying, with track position often deciding the race as overtaking remains notoriously scarce.

That dynamic puts added scrutiny on title leader Kimi Antonelli, whose consistency has underpinned Mercedes’ momentum, and gives teammate George Russell a reset chance if reliability and strategy finally align.

Ferrari, buoyed by Charles Leclerc’s 2024 win in the Principality, see this as a venue that can mask recent inconsistencies, while Red Bull chase a low-speed uptick to reassert their title credentials. Read more