Rob Smedley worked for years in Formula 1 as a race engineer, with stints at Ferrari and Williams, and revealed that he was recently approached to take command of a team, but chose to decline.
Read more F1: Budowski states what is the «first priority» after taking command of Cadillac
During the High Performance Racing podcast, where he participated alongside Otmar Szafnauer and host Jake Humphrey, he explained why he was reluctant to be a boss in F1, using Otmar’s departure from Aston Martin after Martin Whitmarsh’s arrival as an example.
“I would have done exactly what you did: say ‘Ok, if I can’t do everything, then I won’t do it’. People like me and you, Otmar, still get offers for high-level positions in teams. I have been offered team principal roles. The reason I didn’t want to accept is exactly what you just said: I think the team principal is responsible for everything,” he said.
Read more F1: Survey divides opinions about Red Bull in 2026
“And you don’t just answer internally to the team; you also answer publicly. If your name is on the door, you answer publicly. And you think: ‘But wait, I can only control about 20% or 30% of the team. And the other 70%? Even so, I have to take responsibility for that’. It makes no sense at all,” he continued.
“I think, as a team principal or CEO, you are responsible for everything and, when something goes wrong, it’s fair that you bear the consequences,” he added. You leave the team, resign or are publicly fired. I have no problem with that, because everything happened under your management. But when you only control half of the things, it makes no sense at all,” he concluded.
Read more F1 betting with cryptocurrencies: how KYC-free sportsbooks work in the 2026 season
