Rob Smedley spent most of his Formula 1 career going up against some of the great drivers while engineering Felipe Massa at Ferrari.
Their partnership yielded 11 race victories with Massa going on to challenge for the title in 2008 when up against Lewis Hamilton, although it would ultimately end in heartbreak for the pair.
The relationship between the driver and race engineer in F1 is one of the most important to get right, as they will be the first point of contact for the driver if anything goes wrong or they need to change their car setup.
Hamilton’s partnership with Peter Bonnington over his years at Mercedes is a testament, while Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase can often sound like an old married couple but it’s this dynamic that makes them a winning partnership.
Discussing who he would love to engineer on the current grid, Smedley said the was one driver that he would ‘100%’ get on with that he would love to work with on the Red Flags podcast.
Rob Smedley would ‘100%’ love to work with Max Verstappen
Verstappen is known for being direct to his engineer over team radio, having shown signs of frustration last season when things did not go to plan.
The radio exchanges between Lambiaise and Verstappen at the Hungarian GP were a testament to how their dynamic works, while also showing that Verstappen can be a tough customer.
Despite his outbursts, Smedley says he would still love to work alongside the Dutchman if he had the chance in his F1 career.
Brian Muller: “If you could go back and be an engineer for one driver on the grid today, who would it be?”
Smedley: “Max 100%. I think Max and I would get on.”
Rob Smedley admits he would like to poach Max Verstappen’s race engineer from Red Bull
Nowadays, Smedley started his own low-cost racing series using electric karts which are aimed at making motorsport more accessible.
Smedley says he would like to poach Lambiase from Red Bull and have him work for his business, given their previous relationship in Jordan.
READ MORE: Gianpiero Lambiase shares what really surprised him about Max Verstappen’s title-winning radio message
Lambiase ability to achieve results with Verstappen is what makes him so valuable to Red Bull, as he manages to keep the Dutchman focused during races.
This is part of the reason why Smedley thinks it would be good to work alongside him again, given his engineering background.
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