The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane

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A wet track not only meant that braking was difficult at the end of the straight (and driving through puddles at the speeds we needed to achieve would be dangerous), but the moisture had an impact on the airflow structures around the parts of the car that we wanted to measure, as well as on the sensors measuring them. In the high octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers.

The Mechanic, The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane by Marc The Mechanic, The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane by Marc

However, these highly skilled engineers don't just fine-tune machinery and crunch data through high-spec computers. Both were brilliant in a car, probably the two most complete drivers I’ve ever worked with, but the rivalry, distrust and disrespect they developed for each other bred some characteristics in each of them that would leave many in the team falling out of love with their two star drivers. Marc was lucky enough to work alongside David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, among others, but it is his close relationship with Kimi Raikkonen that we gain most insight into as we read. After he had been found, passed out on a rubber dolphin, in front of a night club on Gran Canaria, the team felt a public apology was required.The mechanics and engineers were naturally concerned and wanted to know what it was, so I repeated my not-so-technical description. Besides that, the book is an easy read but describes a lot of repulsive behaviour within the f1 teams as a consequence of too much money and alcohol. Ron Dennis' rather special personality (I always found him fascinating) was the much more interesting aspect of this book in the early chapters. It was ridiculous, especially as I was strapped snugly into my seat and couldn’t really move my arms over the sides of the cockpit. At McLaren, a notoriously professional and fastidious organisation, we used to pride ourselves on being the best at what we did.

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane by Marc The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane by Marc

I’m in the pack somewhere, anonymous to the millions of people watching on TV, waiting for our car to appear at the end of the pitlane.

I look forward to watching him continue to push the boundaries in this field whilst inevitably looking for his next great life challenge. If you’re looking for pure sports and stats vibes this might not be your favourite book, but I thought it had a lot of heart and human touch and that’s what made it a step above a generic sports biography for me ! Ultimately, with two all time great drivers like Alonso and Hamilton battling it out for supremacy and with their respective characters at the time, things became toxic. It’s also afforded me a privileged position: I’m able to watch the changes of an ever-evolving sport close up, while appreciating my time with McLaren for the thrilling, life-changing, slightly surreal and intensely challenging ride that it was. I worked with world-class drivers like Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, but I was also right there as the controversial battle between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso unfolded in 2007.

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane - Google Play

And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium. This work hard mentality also meant that they played hard and also drunk hard too and Priestley's book is full of stories about the races and the aftermath after a successful weekend, of hire cars trashed, the continual practical jokes that they played on each other and the drivers. While the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers, the mechanics are the guys who make every World Champion, and any mistakes can have critical consequences. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outrightobsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on thepodium. I can see him now: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren’s World Champ-in-waiting, arcing into view and bearing down on us at 100kph.If Lewis were to overshoot his pit box, I’d almost certainly get dragged along with him, but he’s one of the best and stops exactly where I need him. Following his retirement from McLaren, Elvis's first broadcast role was as pitlane reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live, where he was able to share his vast technical experience of the cars and equipment with listeners. There are lots of fun stories of the mechanics behaving badly, of particular interest is the story about filling Kimi’s gloves with blue dye and Kimi’s subsequent revenge.

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane - AbeBooks The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane - AbeBooks

He now presents the channel’s studio based chat show, The F1 Midweek Report, as well as attending a number of Grand Prix events.Lewis gathered together his own ever growing entourage in an exclusive private VIP area, none of us from the team were invited. Operating well for three out of four stops isn’t acceptable if the fourth turns out to be a nightmare. There’s another story involving the same anonymous perpetrator, which took place well before my time, but it’s now part of F1 folklore. I expected this to be a light snack that I would forget about quickly, but it was actually more entertaining and informative than I thought.