Formula 1 technical adviser Rob Smedley spoke on the F1Nations podcast about a staff reshuffle at McLaren…
Rob Smedley: “It is a pity that James Key has left McLaren. But Formula 1 can be brutal. Early in my career I worked with James – we were race engineers at Jordan, I worked with Giancarlo Fisichella and he with Takuma Sato.
He has always done his job well – at McLaren and in other teams. It was nice to see him succeed again and again, but McLaren decided it was time for a fresh start. Hopefully this team will return to the top under the leadership of Andrea Stella, Zach Brown and three technical directors.
For one, the role of technical director in a modern Formula 1 team is very difficult. Too many responsibilities. And this is not the one that determines the direction of development for the next ten years and the development of promising technologies. It’s more of a technical edge.
Now in many teams there is a clear demarcation of technical areas. Andrea Stella’s job is to ensure that the three CTOs work together effectively. There is always a danger that two of them will consider the third “weak link”, after which this scheme will stop working. It needs three equally strong specialists who can fully rely on each other, which gives a synergistic effect – and allows you to build a good car.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
