Williams: Rob Smedley will officially take up his duties

The former race engineer for Felipe Massa at Ferrari from 2006 to 2013, Rob Smedley, will officially take up his position at Williams, replacing Rod Nelson who had provisionally filled this role while awaiting the arrival of the defector from Scuderia, which had been anticipated for a month.

At Ferrari, the collaboration between the two men resulted in 11 victories in 135 races and a runner-up finish in the World Championship in 2008. It began at the 2006 European Grand Prix, where the Paulista secured his first career podium.

Rob Smedley will be responsible for coordinating the race side and the factory side of Williams. As for Rod Nelson, he will resume his position as test track engineer. He believes that Smedley’s arrival will lubricate the team’s gears: « Rob will work on the circuits, and on my side, I will work at the factory and travel to private test sessions. »

« We will be in constant interaction because during the Grand Prix, I will be in the control room at Williams and he will be on the pit wall. When you race, you need good communication with the factory because you are looking to react quickly. If you have a problem on Friday, you want it resolved as early as Friday, » he explained.

Felipe Massa thinks that Smedley will be an additional asset for Williams, he states: « He will bring a lot of experience to the team and he will give us many good ideas in terms of race team organization. A lot is happening within the team right now, many improvements that are going in the right direction. But there is still a lot to do, and he will also be an important factor. »

The organization of the team during the race could indeed be an important task, especially following the [incident between Valtteri Bottas and the Brazilian at Sepang](https://www.f1/actualite/17228-williams-massa-justifie-son-refus-de-laisser-passer-bottas.html).