Formula 1
Rob Smedley issues warning over potential Oscar Piastri Red Bull move
Rob Smedley has warned that drivers leaving top Formula 1 teams to become number one elsewhere rarely find the success or happiness they expect
Alex Harrington
Published: May 11, 2026, 2:23 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Sona Maleterova / Getty Images
Rob Smedley, speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, has pushed back against the idea that a secondary driver can leave a top Formula 1 team and successfully launch a championship challenge from another.
The former Ferrari and Williams race engineer drew from his experience in top teams:
"If you're a driver in that team and you're struggling against your team-mate - I'm going back now to my Ferrari days - what's the option for you? Do you leave and go to a worse team that actually has no chance of winning the world championship, but you might be the better driver in that team?
"I've seen that on many an occasion, I've seen drivers do that and I've never seen it work out well. I've never seen it where the driver's been happier."
Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer agreed, citing single-team dominance as the main reason behind this.
"Yeah, because there's two things that happen. That team you're going to, you're saying isn't the best team, you've got to be the number one driver there, which you know you could be. But then that team also has to ascend to be the best team.
"And those two things are a bit more rare.
"Especially the team moving from third best to first, you know? Because usually there's periods of six, seven years of Mercedes or four or five years of Red Bull or whatever it was with Ferrari and Michael [Schumacher] - about ten.
"So in those ten years, if you're the number two at Ferrari and you say, 'You know what, I want to be the number one somewhere else,' you've got ten years of wherever you went is not the best team."
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
This conversation comes as Red Bull targets Oscar Piastri as Max Verstappen replacement Red Bull is targeting Oscar Piastri to take Max Verstappen's seat should the Dutchman leave the team.
Verstappen's potential exit from F1 seemingly stems from his disinterest in the current regulations. While nothing has been confirmed, he has previously teased the idea of either a sabbatical or even retirement. While his contract runs until 2028, reported exit clauses in his contract with the Milton Keynes squad could see him take action.
Piastri is understood to be contracted with McLaren through 2027, and while the Woking outfit sees him as an integral part of its long-term strategy, the Australian may take the chance to take on the role of lead driver beside Isack Hadjar.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Audi F1 reliability problems branded “embarrassing” by David Croft after Miami GP disappointment
Next article Fernando Alonso takes delivery of $12million hypercar with matching baby seat
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Harrington
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
Nike could return to Formula 1 for first time since Michael Schumacher era
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Nike could return to Formula 1 for first time since Michael Schumacher era
Report: Sergio Perez's management in Williams talks as Carlos Sainz's future remains unclear
Formula 1
Formula 1
Report: Sergio Perez's management in Williams talks as Carlos Sainz's future remains unclear
More from
Oscar Piastri
McLaren’s upgrade is "a pleasant surprise" – but will it stay on the car in Brazil?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
McLaren’s upgrade is "a pleasant surprise" – but will it stay on the car in Brazil?
Oscar Piastri accepts penalty for Arvid Lindblad clash but questions F1 rules
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Oscar Piastri accepts penalty for Arvid Lindblad clash but questions F1 rules
More from
McLaren
McLaren’s 2027-spec front wing is making its F1 car more predictable
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
14 h
McLaren’s 2027-spec front wing is making its F1 car more predictable
Latest news
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
3 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe