Rob Smedley: Fernando Alonso is not a disruptive element
Rob Smedley believes that Fernando Alonso is an extraordinary driver with whom it is easy to collaborate. Before joining Williams this season, the engineer had the time to get to know the Spanish driver at Ferrari over several years.
The departure of the Spanish driver has not yet been made official, but the former president of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, has confirmed that the former Renault F1 driver will leave at the end of the season. Rob Smedley, who was the race engineer for Felipe Massa at Ferrari before joining Williams, believes that Fernando Alonso is not a difficult driver to collaborate with.
« No, no he is not disruptive. I think he is quite consistent in his views and knows what he wants, but that’s the case for most people who are very good at their work and I think it’s a strength. He does not waver in his goal, he is mentally very strong, able to adapt to all the parameters of a regulation, he constantly gives 100% in his car, if not more. I think he tends to gather people around him simply thanks to his talent » he said in Crash.net.
The former race engineer of Felipe Massa was surprised to see Ferrari appoint Sebastian Vettel in place of the Spanish driver for next season, even if the official announcement has not yet been made: « I have often stated that I think Fernando is the best driver of his generation. I am a huge fan, I can never say enough about how talented he is. He brings a lot to the team in terms of performance. I am really very surprised by this departure. It was apparently by mutual agreement, or a disagreement, you call it what you want. So I’m a bit surprised, but it’s their business » he explains.
Smedley believes that having a driver of Fernando Alonso’s caliber is a real asset to a team: « I think that by sheer force of his talent, he manages to motivate people. When you are at the absolute peak in your field, when few people can reach that level, it’s a motivation in itself. If you are excellent in what you do, whether in the realm of Formula 1 – a driver, engineer, technician, whatever it is – I think if you work with very highly talented people, it brings everyone around you to raise their game; I think that’s where the motivation to work with Fernando comes from » he concludes.
