Rob Smedley set for technical consultant role with Formula One

Former Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley is set to become a technical consultant with F1. 

Smedley, who left Williams at the end of last season, will provide an expert viewpoint and consult on the technical side of Formula One's future.

The vastly experienced Englishman was a well-known figure in the F1 paddock, particularly his role as race engineer at Ferrari to Felipe Massa before he went on to work at Williams in a more senior role.

In his new role, Smedley will oversee the improvement and adaptation of F1 content across multiple platforms.

“It’s about trying to get a coherent message in terms of the technical side of Formula 1,” he told Formula1.com.

“How the events unfolded, why people have made certain decisions, and putting that out across the various different platforms, and hopefully telling a better story of Formula 1. It’s about really bringing the inner beauty of Formula 1 to the viewer, to the fan."

Smedley added that he spoke to F1's Managing Director of Sports and former Ferrari colleague, Ross Brawn before accepting the role.

“In conversations with Ross, we were both of the opinion that there’s this really rich seam of technical content, of data, of the way that teams operate, that actually never gets told.

"And it’s part of the whole story that underpins Formula 1, which actually the paying public, the Formula 1 fan, never ever gets to see – or they get to see very little of it. So there’s an opportunity in front of us to put that together at some level.

“It’s well documented that I’d taken a decision to have a little bit of time away from the coalface in the teams.

"But I still have a huge burning passion for Formula 1 and I hope that this is a way of me giving a little bit back to the sport, to explain what I’ve learnt over the last 20 years in Formula 1 as an engineer to the viewer; not only the technical side or the operational side, but the human side as well – of what it takes for all those women and men who work in Formula 1 and commit their lives to it.”