Formula 1 will have the longest calendar in its history in the 2022 season, with a total of 23 grands prix around the world, and that will be quite a challenge for the teams. The workers of each group will travel to different parts of the planet and will have to transport thousands of tons of material every week, so it is very interesting to see how they do it.
What day do the teams arrive at the circuit on a Formula 1 weekend?
During Wednesday , one day before the press conferences of each event begin, the employees set up the garage, including electricity, lights, air conditioning and car elements so that it is operational from the moment the team lands on the circuit.
Some, like Aston Martin, the group that allowed fans to discover through its YouTube channel what the whole process is like, have five boats to move the material from one race to another around the globe. The most difficult job is to prepare the components that are located just above the car inside the garage, which are the ones that transmit the information between the car and the team.
An important task is to keep the area where the mechanics are clean , and everything is taken care of in detail, even the car itself is tidied up before it goes out on the track.
How do the teams organize the staff in each grand prix?
Something that is also a bit unknown to the general public is how the staff is managed, with some members skipping grand prizes and traveling directly to the next one to start work on setting up the garages. It’s also not uncommon for them to return to the factory, usually in the UK, before being put back on a plane.
In the F1 sets there is a person under the position of coordinator , who is in charge of directing the assembly process of the garages, indicating to his workers the position of the elements that they will use in the pit stops, the tires, and ensuring that the material arrives on time from the ships.
Some employees go to the track on the Tuesday before each appointment, that is, five days before the race itself, and leave everything ready for when the drivers arrive. The coordinator, once his work is finished, begins to prepare the trip back to the factory in case he needs a lap, or the trip to the next circuit.
How many activities do the workers of each Formula 1 team carry out?
The 2021 season was a challenge for the teams, as they visited some places they had not been, so they are unaware of the dimensions of the paddock and the pit building. This will be repeated in 2022 in Miami, the only venue of the 23 that they have not yet visited.
These workers also take care of other activities once the material has been unpacked, such as checking the tires, starting the engine or refueling the car when it returns to the garage after a session. The teams themselves recognize that it is vital that their employees are able to multi-task, because they have a limited number of people who can be in the paddock.
On Wednesday, while some finish the last touches inside the garages, a member is dedicated to spray painting the lines that serve as a reference for the drivers for pit stops, and this is done manually with some templates.
Thursday is the day for technical checks, and the mechanics move the cars to the FIA garage to pass all the tests that homologate the car for the weekend. The drivers attend the press conferences and attend to the media, but they also visit the box to check how the work is going, some even enter the cockpit to make sure that everything is in its correct place.
An example of the multiple activities carried out by the employees is that of Jack Partridge , the Aston Martin garage technician, who, in addition to seeing that all the material for the stops is correctly located, is also in charge of the right front wheel in the garage. time of tire change.
Among the components that mechanics use the most, and the ones that are seen the most on television broadcasts, are the jack that lifts the car off the ground and the guns that unscrew the nut from the rim, but they must also be cleaned and greased so that nothing fail at the crucial moment.
The engineering wall is a key place to make decisions that are reflected on the track, and it is normally assembled on Wednesdays or Thursdays, depending on the grand prix, and it takes about three or four hours to get it ready, although the simple thing is tear it down on Sunday, as they only take about 40 minutes.
Employees check that the screens work perfectly once they are turned on, so everything is ready for the engineers to do their work with the pilots.
What is it like on Sunday when the race ends for a team?
On Sunday morning a meeting is held to organize how they collect the material, where the coordinator, the two chief mechanics and the garage manager are present. It is not an easy task, as some components, such as refrigerators, are carried to the starting grid and cannot be returned to their place until the traffic lights go out.
Also arriving on Wednesday are all the chairs that the teams use for the mechanics to sit on during the race, and they are taken out on Sunday, when the cars make their installation lap on the grid, as well as the tires being placed behind them to make stops faster.
As soon as the grand prize is over, the crews begin to put all the material in large containers to travel by sea or air to the next appointment. In these crates, teams number the pieces so they know exactly where each item goes.
