Rob Smedley fears Ferrari could now be stuck in a ‘negative loop’ after ‘soul-destroying’ Miami GP

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Rob Smedley has warned that Ferrari could now be stuck in a ‘negative loop’ after their ‘soul-destroying’ Miami Grand Prix.

Heading into last weekend’s race around the Miami International Autodrome, there was optimism that Ferrari could challenge the dominant Mercedes.

The Scuderia had brought 11 upgrades to Miami, but their performance did not match the expectations.

Charles Leclerc crossed the line sixth before a 20-second penalty demoted him to eighth place.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton inherited sixth from Leclerc after his race was impacted by an opening lap collision with Franco Colapinto.

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Rob Smedley fears Ferrari could be stuck in ‘negative loop’ after Miami Grand Prix

Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, ex-Ferrari race engineer Smedley claims that the Scuderia could now be stuck in a ‘negative loop’ after their upgrades failed to make the car faster.

The 52-year-old, who worked at Ferrari from 2004 to 2013, also said that the Miami Grand Prix would have been a ‘soul-destroying’ experience for the team.

Smedley explained: “It’s slightly soul destroying because what that is, it starts, from a technical point of view, it starts essentially like this negative loop that you’ve then got to know what did you bring? What’s working? What’s not working?

“If it’s not correlating, as in like the wind tunnel or your simulation tools are not matching what’s on track. You’ve then got to go through this whole reverse-engineering process.

“Where you go back to the tunnel, and that holds up all the development in the tunnel that you should be doing. It just goes round and round.”

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He added: “And tunnel time is spent, tunnel and simulation time, which is limited through the aerodynamic testing regulations, the ATR, you’re only allowed so much.

“It’s a mix of wind tunnel time and CFD time, computational fluid dynamics, and if you have to spend that on working out why your car isn’t correlating on track rather than developing the car to be faster, in technical terms, you’re f——.”

READ MORE: Ferrari staff’s ‘mood’ has ‘soured’ after seeing McLaren and Red Bull’s upgrades at Miami Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc reflects on ‘poor decision’ that ruined his Miami Grand Prix

In the closing stages, Leclerc was chasing after Oscar Piastri as he looked to secure another podium finish.

However, as the final lap commenced, Leclerc spun and made contact with the wall, leaving him with damage.

The Monegasque was eventually passed by the likes of George Russell and Max Verstappen before being handed a penalty for leaving the track on multiple occasions.

Speaking afterwards, Leclerc said: “It’s all on me. I don’t have much to add other than that. Very disappointed with my mistake. It shouldn’t happen.

“I pushed very hard in the second-to-last lap. I thought it was a good idea to let Oscar go for me to get the overtake [boost mode]. I knew it was going to be very difficult to get in front otherwise.

“It was a very poor decision, and in the space of four corners I put a very strong race in the bin. I am very frustrated about that. Not much more to say.”