F1 Racing Confidential

In my attempt to « contaminate my digital twin, » as I explained earlier, I not only watched an interesting documentary on Schumacher but also listened to a book that talks about all the different people and jobs that are a part of F1 racing. The world of F1 is not something that everyone knows much about, but the author of this book interviewed different men and women from different teams who hold or held different jobs:

• Christian Horner – Team Principal, Red Bull Racing
• Toto Wolff – CEO, Mercedes AMG F1
• Ruth Buscombe – Head of Strategy, Alfa Romeo Stake F1
• Lando Norris – Driver, McLaren F1
• James Allison – Technical Director, Mercedes AMG F1
• Paul Monaghan – Chief Engineer, Red Bull Racing
• Tom Stallard – Senior Race Engineer, McLaren F1
• Peter Mabon – Pirelli Trackside Engineer
• Rupert Manwaring – Performance Coach, Scuderia Ferrari
• Marianne Hinson – Aero Department Manager, McLaren F1
• Neil Ambrose – Machinist, Red Bull Racing
• Matt Bishop – Communications Director (ex-McLaren)
• Frazer Burchell – No.2 Mechanic, McLaren F1
• Russell Braithwaite – CFO, Mercedes AMG F1
• Sarah Lacy-Smith – Trackside Logistics Coordinator, McLaren F1
• Jack Partridge – Garage Technician, Aston Martin F1
• Guillaume Rocquelin – Head of Driver Academy, Red Bull Racing
• Kari Lammenranta – Chief Mechanic, McLaren F1
• Victoria Johnson – Marketing Operations Director, Mercedes AMG F1
• Lucas Blakeley – Esports world champion, McLaren F1

I must admit I could have guessed some of these jobs existed, but I had no idea how complex and interesting some of these positions were (and the narrator was ok but not great). Some of the stories were better developed than others, but all were interesting. My favourite chapters were the ones about the person who is responsible for tires (the Trackside Engineer) and the logistics coordinator. That coordinator is responsible for the almost 2000 pieces that make a race car, from the smallest to the largest, must have several replacement pieces at all times plus the thousands of tools it takes to remove/install/repair all these parts, must be able to find replacement parts in seconds if a driver is in an accident, and must work with engineers and mechanics when parts need to be modified, etc.

In every chapter, you learn about the job the person is doing as well as their background, their family, what they studied, and how they ended up doing a job that fewer than 30 people might have on the planet. What is mentioned a few times but not discussed much are the role of women in those types of jobs, the significant environmental impacts of this sport, and the insane costs of the whole endeavour (for example, F1 racing seems to be a sport for very talented drivers but is, more accurately, a sport for very rich drivers).

It’s not like I’m going to watch F1 races and learn everything about it, now, but I must admit I was more interested in the topic than I thought I would be. I guess I have always liked to learn about the « behind-the-scene » stuff that very few people know about. So, dear readers, what’s the next topic I should investigate?