Every great racing team has knowledge that can't be found in a manual. It lives in the hands, instincts and experience of the people who work on the cars day in, day out – the lessons learned through repetition, problem-solving and years on the tools. As we celebrate the Originals with our Official Lubricant Partner, Valvoline, we speak to five members of our trackside crew about the knowledge that can only come from experience – the unique lived experience that makes each of them an Original.
The operating philosophy behind an F1 car has more similarities with a military vehicle than it does a road car. Our F1 cars are designed for frequent maintenance to be done rapidly by a large group of people. Case in point is changing a gearbox: on a road car, that's typically a day's work, but perhaps requiring only one mechanic; for an F1 car, the crew will aim to do the work in about an hour... potentially less when the clock is ticking.
The crew working on a car is a tight-knit team within a team. There is a great deal of cross-training, but everyone is a specialist in their area of the process. Each team does it in a slightly different way, with slightly different titles, but broadly, the car has a No. 1 mechanic running the show, a front-end mechanic, a rear-end mechanic, an engine-kitter, a floating mechanic and a gearbox technician. Overseeing the work of both crews will be a chief mechanic.
We often talk about 'assembling' the car, but the mechanics' job is wider than that of a fitter. An F1 car is a prototype. It changes specification from week to week, and frequently day to day. It doesn't always go together smoothly the first time, and there is always a snag list. Having a crew that problem-solves automatically and communicates well is one of those aspects of F1 that everyone takes for granted, but without which the sport simply could not function.
Some of our crew will have joined the team as apprentices, others will have arrived in F1 from other types of motorsport. There isn't any particular uniformity of background or education, but what unites them is the ability to cope under the most extreme pressure. It isn't something that's taught, but very much something that has to be learned on the job – but that's true of many things in an F1 garage. These are some of the aspects of the job our mechanics insist simply have to be learned by doing.
THE ABILITY TO THINK ON YOUR FEET.
Whenever drivers refer to their No. 1 mechanic, there’s sometimes an assumption among fans that it's a compliment, referring to the best or most trusted among the crew. It isn't. No. 1 is a genuine job title – though the other things may also be true.
The No. 1 is accountable for the car: the other mechanics take their lead from the number one, who, in turn, liaises with race engineer, chief mechanic and sporting director. Despite being surrounded by senior staff, ultimately, the decision of whether the car is ready is made by the No. 1. They signal engine start, walk out into the pitlane, and usher the car towards the exit.
Harry Rush is No. 1 on Lance Stroll’s car: "The thing that only experience and working in the job can provide is the ability to think on your feet. The reactiveness that we need in this game is something you only acquire by working trackside, working in a crew.
"There is teaching, and, of course, we're taught how to deal with certain situations, but things don't always go the way you want them to. If we need to repair crash damage, or have a reliability issue, then you don't always have the luxury of approaching the repair as you might in the AMR Technology Campus. Over time, you gain the experience of knowing how to work in the most efficient way possible.
"We always arrive at the track hoping for a smooth weekend where everything goes to plan. But the reason we're all here, and the reason we've been picked to do these jobs, is that we work well under pressure. The nature of motorsport means you're often called upon to do exactly that: perform under pressure and help the team get through the difficult times. That's where you really earn your money!
"It can be... enjoyable. Obviously, there's disappointment when the weekend starts going the wrong way, but when you pull together as a crew to get through those challenges, it's probably one of the most rewarding parts of the job. You don't wish for it, or hope for it, but I think, secretly, there isn't anyone in the garage who doesn’t enjoy that sort of tough weekend."
PUTTING A LOT OF TRUST IN OTHER PEOPLE.
The role of No. 1 mechanic is a job that Mikey Brown has held for a decade, having worked his way through the mechanic ranks at our team, previously having worked in sports cars.
Moving up into the No. 1 mechanic slot introduced a new set of challenges for Mikey in the human rather than the technical sphere. "The thing they cannot teach about being a no.1 is that you have to put a lot of trust in other people," he says.
"There are so many facets to the job and to the car that you have to trust that people are doing their job correctly. Obviously, there are processes, and you put in place checks as much as you can – but the underlying trust has to be there, and that’s another huge learning curve, because there are just so many moving parts.
"Building that rapport with your crew is huge. Ultimately, as a No. 1, you're only as good as the crew working on the car, so the more effort you put into creating that bond and forming a cohesive unit, the better the team will be.
"It does get easier over time, though the stresses of running the car remain the same. You just approach it in a slightly calmer manner because you've experienced more along the way. I remember the first time I started as a No. 1, I was anxious, stressed and felt under pressure – but having done it for 10 years, the lived experience takes over."
THE LEVEL OF FOCUS.
The role of No. 2 mechanic is often referred to as that of a 'floating' mechanic. They're the extra pair of hands pitching in wherever the work is busiest. That might be the front end or the rear end, but typically it will be work around fitting the engine and gearbox.
"The difference between F1 and the lower formulae is that there, you often take responsibility for the entire car, but here, you're fully focused on one area," explains Harvey.
"If you’re a front-ender, you'll look after the front suspension and the internals such as brake pedal and driver's seat; the rear-ender will have responsibility for the gearbox externals and the suspension, uprights, and the carbon shrouds around it. The gearbox technician looks after the gearbox itself.
"Everybody has their own bit – other than the floating mechanic who gets involved in everything – but even for me, it still feels very specific, compared to looking after the whole car. That level of focus, that takes a little getting used to when you first arrive."
SPOTTING THINGS THAT OTHERS MAY NOT.
In times of dire need – an urgent repair with the clock ticking, for example – the mechanics will swap one side of the garage for the other, and all contribute to preparing a stricken car as space around it allows, but those days are thankfully rare. Others in the garage, however, work on both cars as a matter of course, such is the case for gearbox technician Andy Rush.
An F1 gearbox is a thing of great complexity. The bulk of the build is done at the AMR Technology Campus in our large, well-provisioned, gearbox workshop – because there simply wouldn't be time or space at the track. What does happen at the track is that the gearboxes are kitted and prepared to be married up to the car.
In an ideal scenario, the gearbox that’s fitted on Wednesday would be the one that stays on the car all weekend. That's not always the plan, however, with the cost-cap era encouraging the team to maximise the use of every component.
"Quite a lot of the time, we'll put a high-mileage gearbox on the car to run during Friday practice, to use up that last bit of mileage available to us, and then fit a younger gearbox for Saturday and Sunday," says Andy. "It is quite common for us to be swapping them around during the weekend.
"The gearbox is examined thoroughly after every session. Experience lets you spot things that you may not otherwise see, like a weeping seal, or what you suspect to be the start of a crack.
"We have such a big trackside operation that you can call in Non-Destructive Testing specialists to take a look. It feels like a win when you spot something, because you've located an issue before it becomes a problem. Of course, it's then your responsibility to change it, but replacing a gearbox with a built-up spare can be done in an hour."
A FEEL FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
The primary point of contact between the engineering groups and the mechanics working on the car is the chief mechanic. If the chief mechanic is spotted physically working on the car, then chances are the team is under pressure. The job is primarily a management role.
Aston Martin Aramco chief mechanic Curtis Stones grins at the notion of something that can't be taught. For him, it is a question of perception: the sixth sense that anticipates when things are about to become problematic, but can be nipped in the bud before that happens.
"It's not so much experience as it is a feel for what's going on. There are processes and procedures that inform us of how things should work... but there has to also be an understanding of when perhaps things are starting to happen outside of those procedures.
"Effectively, you want to know when things are going wrong. Where experience comes in is having seen all of these different scenarios before, and intuitively understanding that things aren't happening the way they should be.
"Most weekends are firefighting weekends, because that’s the nature of F1. The game is always developing. If we're doing our jobs correctly, we'll document every process and every procedure, writing down everything we learn along the way – but the environment is dynamic: we'll constantly be adapting our processes to suit that. This is something that can’t be taught: you really have to experience it first-hand."
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