FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[mrshyt]

Hi everyone,

First time posting here, I did a quick search but I couldn't find an answer.

The guys who change tyres, pump fuel into the car, hold the lollypop etc, do they actually do anything else during the whole season? ie: are they mechanics who help out with the configuration of the car and other stuff? Or are they just there each and every race day to change some tyres and hold a lolly pop? It has always seemed like quite a sweet job, just travel around the world, change a few tyres, of course they have to practise changing tyres quickly, but there can't be that much to it, right?

Let me know if anyone knows, thanks.

[acosmichippo]

Judging from this thread, it sounds like they're the engineers that work on and develop the car throughout the season.

[LewEngBridewell]

Keeping their heads while trying to do the most crucial of jobs in the quickest time possible with all the world watching is no easy feat. I regard it as an intense job! Certainly nothing easy about it...



(Oh, and welcome to the forum BTW!!)

[bigpat]

Yes they are the mechanics who maintain the cars throughout the weekend, and also strip and rebuild the cars back at the factory. The truck drivers are normally in charge of the tyres for the cars.

As for car development, no, these guys are employed as mechanics, not engineers. The R&D, aero, and vehicle performance engineers drive the changes, though they would naturally engage the mechanics when it comes to servicability and installation decisions.

The life of a professional mechanic always looks glamourous and cruisy from the outside, but take it from me, it isn't. You don't get much time to do anything, except to party on the Sunday night. Its long hours, and living out of a suitcase. You do it because you love the racing aspect, but it can be tiring. It take sits toll on relationships at home as well.....

Pat

[Murray Walker]

Practice

MW

[vaptin]

I think they're the same general mechanics, so they work on the car rebuilding it or making setup changes. They also work at the teams factory.

[The_Stig_Money]

Only the fastest mechanics become pit stop crew. There is real training programs for the pit crew

there are alot of mechanics who never enter the pit lane, most just stay in the garage and turn wrenches

[bigpat]

Not quite true. Being quick on the wrenches doesn't mean you automatically do pitstops. The two are separate disciplines. In pitlane is easier, as you only have one thing to do. A pitstop takes 16-17 people, so all the actual mechanics on the cars are involved.

A race team is more likely to employ a thorough, and methodical mechanic, rather than one that is fast. Attention to detail is the name of the game here. In top level racing, you rarely rebuild things at the track, rather you just change thd entire assembly. Everything is assembled to a system, and a certain specification, to keep any individuality out of the car build.

I was never the fastest guy on the spammers in our team, but lasted longer than others because I was very meticulous about what I did. Having someone's life in your hands is a big responsibility....

[Hammer278]

Not quite true. Being quick on the wrenches doesn't mean you automatically do pitstops. The two are separate disciplines. In pitlane is easier, as you only have one thing to do. A pitstop takes 16-17 people, so all the actual mechanics on the cars are involved.

A race team is more likely to employ a thorough, and methodical mechanic, rather than one that is fast. Attention to detail is the name of the game here. In top level racing, you rarely rebuild things at the track, rather you just change thd entire assembly. Everything is assembled to a system, and a certain specification, to keep any individuality out of the car build.

I was never the fastest guy on the spammers in our team, but lasted longer than others because I was very meticulous about what I did. Having someone's life in your hands is a big responsibility....

So you guys were big into digital marketing as well as racing?

On a serious note though, I agree..there's no way these 'tyre changing' guys are just that - tyre changing guys. To get to that level, every individual works as a unit, basically having a comprehensive role throughout the race weekend which involves huge responsibility. When drivers talk about 'the guys were up all night' it would be every mechanic involved all 24 hours of the three day weekend and its no mean feat.

Not my kind of life, but huge respect to those guys.

[andrew]

First time posting here, I did a quick search but I couldn't find an answer.

Far too quick it seems.

...but there can't be that much to it, right?

Wrong. Apart from anything else there is an immense amount of pressure to not screw up and loose a position, a win or even a championship.

It would be a huge waste of resources to have these guys change a few tyres every so often and then si on their backsides and do nothing else for the entire race weekend. The answer to your question is pretty obvious. Of course they perform several other tasks!