Smeets was previously the team manager of the Volkswagen World Rally Championship team and worked under the current Williams CEO and F1 boss Jost Capito.
After Smeets had played a role in VW’s race to catch up with three consecutive driver and manufacturer titles in the WRC, Smeets took over the position of the brand’s motorsport director in F1 in 2016 after Capito’s departure to McLaren.
Smeets was Motorsport Director at Volkswagen for over four years, but has now joined the Williams management team as part of the ongoing restructuring of the team.
Capito took sole responsibility for the Williams F1 team earlier this year following the departure of team principal Simon Roberts, noting that the management team needed to be restructured, including the hiring of a sporting director.
Smeets took on the role of sporting director last month and competed in his first Grand Prix with Williams in Qatar, but his appointment has not been officially announced by the team.
He is the youngest ex-Volkswagen Motorsport employee to join Williams’ senior management following the arrival of Capito last December and FX Demaison’s technical director in March.
According to his biography on the team’s website, Smeets will “be responsible for the sporting direction and representation of the team in all sporting matters related to the FIA, other teams and motor sport federations”.
Smeets will also have “overall responsibility for the racing team” and be responsible for the junior driver academy, which currently includes Jack Aitken, Roy Nissany and Jamie Chadwick.
“In cooperation with Jost Capito, FX Demaison and the Williams Racing Management Team, Sven ensures that the optimal culture, resources and environment are available for the success of the team,” says his biography.
Capito said back in June that he had found a number of people in the motorsport industry and in the F1 paddock who now “seem to enjoy working for Williams.”
“That helps us a lot,” said Capito. “We also see that we have a lot of talent and don’t want to turn everything upside down.
“We want to build a team that is a sustainable team in the long term and that doesn’t just buy people from whoever. This really is a real team based on the talents we have. “
Sven Smeets, Jost Capito, Francois-Xavier Demaison, Jan-Gerard de Jongh, Richard Browne, Volkswagen
Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport
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