“People Are Literally Spitting at You”: Former Ferrari Engineer Explains Harsh Reality of Working With the Scuderia

Ferrari is the most successful team in F1 history, and it is the dream of everyone associated with the sport to work with them at some point in their career. Working in Maranello is an exciting idea for people who want to make their name with the biggest team in F1, but the reality of being a Ferrari employee, is much more difficult than one can imagine.

A former Ferrari engineer, Rob Smedley spoke to Sky Sports about how huge the pressure was on his ex-team. Smedley spoke about the expectations put on Ferrari’s shoulders by the Italian public and media, which made their lives extremely difficult.

Smedley described Ferrari as a religion in Italy, and representing the Scuderia is like representing Italy as a whole. As a result, when they failed, the entire country was upset. The working environment at Ferrari has always been about riding high on these emotions, and Smedley feels that in order to be successful, it is important to accept the pressure that comes with being associated with the Maranello-based outfit.

When Ferrari fails, people are literally spitting on you

It has been a long time since Ferrari fans enjoyed the taste of a world championship victory. Their last drivers’ champion was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and they won the constructors’ title a year later. Since then, title glory has eluded the team, and the Tifosi is desperate for someone to take their name to the top of F1 again.

Smedley talks about how the general public reacts to the highs and lows at Ferrari. When things go well, no one shows more love to the team than the public, but when they turn sour, so does their mood.

“You’d be held up on a pedestal,” the 49-year-old said. “And you’d be thought about as being the best thing since sliced bread. Four, six weeks, two months later. You know, people are literally spitting at you in the street.”

Ferrari’s desperation to return to the top

In 2022, Ferrari’s season went off to a perfect start with star driver Charles Leclerc winning two out of the opening three races. The Monegasque became the early favorite to win the title, and Ferrari fans were on cloud nine.

Unfortunately for the fans, a number of strategy goof-ups and power unit reliability woes began hampering their races. In the end, Red Bull and Max Verstappen coasted towards winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

The Tifosi expected a bounce-back of sorts in 2023, but their start to year has been woeful to say the least. They are fourth in the constructors’ championship standings, behind Red Bull, Aston Martin and Mercedes.