Former F1 race engineer Rob Smedley has suggested Ferrari must now fully back Lewis Hamilton if they wish to triumph in this year's drivers' championship.
Hamilton has enjoyed a strong surge in form this year compared to previous campaigns, with his step forward coming alongside the introduction of the new-for-2026 cars.
The seven-time champion currently sits third in the drivers' standings, behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, albeit tied on points with the latter.
Mercedes' impressive advantage in the opening half of the year has now seemingly disappeared with just two wins in the last six rounds.
Hamilton currently sits 28 points ahead of Leclerc, and Smedley thinks the time has come for the team to intervene.
“My opinion from the start has always been, if Ferrari want to have an impact on this world championship, they have to get behind him,” he told the High Performance Racing podcast.
“As hard as that is for Charles and the team that sits on that side of the garage with Charles and all the rest of it, they all work for Ferrari.
“Lewis has had the better run, and that's how it is this year. Lewis has had the better run and done the better job.
“And I think if they're going to steal points from Mercedes, they're going to do that as a team.”
Hamilton was left frustrated last time out at the Dutch Grand Prix after he called for Leclerc to be moved out of the way after displaying that he had more pace.
Leclerc eventually ceded position when he pitted, however some have suggested Ferrari's delay in making the call cost Hamilton a podium.
Smedley added: “They haven't got the best car consistently, but they have on occasions got the best car, and they're going to make it count then, and they're going to make sure that Lewis wins.
“On all the other occasions, they're just going to make sure that they maximise Lewis' points.
“This is just about doing what is the sensible thing for the team and trying to maximise Ferrari's position in the world championship.”
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix! The duo discuss Max Verstappen's massive crash, if Lando Norris' title defence dream is alive and team orders starting to be used.
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