© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley thinks Red Bull has a better car than Mercedes in 2021, and says he believes Lewis Hamilton would beat Max Verstappen if they were in “identical cars”.
Long-time Formula 1 race engineer Rob Smedley, who worked with Felipe Massa during his 2008 title fight with Lewis Hamilton, gave his opinion on Lewis’ current battle with Max Verstappen.
“I’ve got to go with Lewis, because he’s done it seven times before,” Smedley told the F1 Nation podcast, when asked who he believes will take the 2021 title.
“Now, that’s not to take anything away from Max, because Max is a once in a generation talent, but I think that Lewis has learned more of his craft than Max – just like anybody, he’s just been doing it longer than Max.
“He’s done it seven times before, so if they were in identical cars with identical tyres and all the rest of it for the five remaining races, I would still back Lewis at this point in time.”
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Smedley also believes that Red Bull has a stronger car than Mercedes this year.
“If I was going to go for car, I would go for the Red Bull. I think it’s a slightly better car and it has been a better car all season.
“I read something over the weekend where Helmut Marko has said that Max has given away 50 points or something like that. Now, I don’t know whether that’s true.
“If you take the races where he hasn’t finished, it might not be a net 50 points compared to Lewis, but it’s certainly quite a few points that he’s given away,” concluded the Briton.
Smedley was also Head of Vehicle Performance for Williams, among his many other Formula 1 roles.
