"It's when you get into those difficult periods, that's when the true character comes out": Former Ferrari race engineer on drivers criticizing teams

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley spoke about how drivers can sometimes drift away from their teams and start criticizing them. This was regarding Charles Leclerc and how difficult the 2022 F1 season was for him with Ferrari. He gradually lost his grip on the championship due to his team's and his own mistakes.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Smedley explained how difficult it can be to manage top drivers like Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton, who demand a perfect car every single race. He said:

"That's a really difficult one, to be honest. The best thing that a team can do with drivers of, you know, Charles's caliber, drivers like Max, drivers like Lewis, who just want to and expect to win every single weekend, is deliver a car that can do that. But equally, those drivers also have their part to play. So I'm gonna kind of back the team in this occasion."

Though he understands how much drivers go through in order to win, if a team is not doing well, he admits they too have a part to play. Smedley further explains how the true personality of a team member comes out during difficult times. Even then, no one, including the drivers, should start playing the blame game. He added:

"Once you get into those difficult periods, that's when you see the true character of the team and the individuals come out. I think the drivers have a key part to playing that because if after a year of difficulties, after a period of difficulties, you shouldn't be turning to the team and tell them it's all their fault I think that's unfair."

Finally, he made it clear that even though top F1 drivers want a perfect car during races, there will always be chances that the car or the team will have some issues. He concluded:

"I think that my view on this is that the team has to supply the drivers, and the top three four drivers in Formula One, they have to be supplied with a great car but you also have to have a level of realism in that as well that you can't have the best car in every single Grand Prix, every single year, it's just not possible."

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Carlos Sainz 'trust' Ferrari to resolve issues creeping up in the 2023 F1 season

Carlos Sainz recently stated that he trusts Ferrari to resolve any and all issues that the team is facing at the moment. He admits that they have not had the best start to the 2023 F1 season and are suffering from less race pace and more tire wear. However, he has confidence in the team.

According to Motorsport-Total.com, he said:

"It's the race pace, it's the tire wear. We know that and we will eradicate it. I have confidence in my team and trust the development plan. I trust the conclusions we draw. I trust Ferrari. We were just not good enough [in Bahrain and Jeddah]. I wasn't super strong in the first two races either."

Although Ferrari were thinking of fighting Red Bull in 2023, they have taken a step back in terms of pace. Currently, their main focus will be to fight Aston Martin and Mercedes and get as close to Red Bull as possible.