Smedley planning to remain in F1 after Williams exit

Outgoing Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley is eager to remain in Formula 1 following his departure from the team, saying he is already discussing possible roles for the future.

Smedley announced ahead of last weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix he would be leaving Williams at the end of 2018 after five seasons with the team.

The former Ferrari and Jordan engineer said he will spend some time with his family during his gardening leave and enjoy “being a normal husband, a normal dad and not going away every two weeks,” but is keen on making a return to F1 in the future.

“I definitely want to stay in Formula 1. Formula 1 is my passion, all my working life that I’ve been in Formula 1 and it’s still the pinnacle of motorsport,” Smedley said.

“There are other series that are snapping at its heels, but it’s still got a lot to offer. Formula 1, we’re working on it all the time, it’s not the complete package. It has so much more potential than what you actually see.

“I do want to stay in Formula 1 on the technical side. I’m lucky, because I’m already talking to people and that’s a fortunate position to be in and we’ll just see where everything takes us.”

Pressed on where he may end up back in F1, Smedley said he is “not closing off any options” as he considers his next move.

“I’m in a really fortunate lucky position that people want to talk to me so I’m talking and there’s absolutely no avenues closed off,” Smedley said.

“What I actually need to do is to at some point, towards the start of next year, is to get all the options on the table and after having spent a little bit of time away from it and being able to look at things with a clearer head, slightly less fatigued, then I will make a decision.

“But until that point, I will see what the options are as they come in and go from there."