- 1 day ago
Head of Race Team Garage Operations and Heritage for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Matt Deane joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about being a Formula One lead mechanic.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Matt Dean, Chief Mechanic at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team
00:03and I'm here to answer your questions from the internet. This is F1 Mechanic Support.
00:13This question is from the Tools subreddit.
00:15Mechanics, what is your favourite or most underrated tool?
00:18Some of the tools that we actually use are quite different to what you would use on a regular car.
00:23They can be quite small.
00:24A big mechanic's favourite is this one. It's called a Bit Driver.
00:27Super low profile, we can change the bits over it quite easily
00:30and it's really good to get into really confined spaces on the car,
00:34underneath the bodywork and the fairings and all the winglets on the car.
00:37Actually, let's go look at the tools.
00:40So one of the favourite tools of the Mechanic is the F1 Wheel Gun.
00:43This is used to loosen and tighten the wheel nut up itself.
00:47Unlike regular road cars, we only have one wheel nut.
00:49So as the car comes in, the Mechanic has to line this wheel gun up with the wheel nut.
00:55He goes on, pulls the trigger, as he comes off, changes direction on the wheel gun.
01:02The new wheel is fitted and then he comes back in, pulls the trigger to tighten the wheel nut up.
01:08Once he's finished, he's lifting the wheel gun up in the air, pressing the button here to acknowledge that that
01:14wheel nut is tight and the car can leave the pit box.
01:17All of this happens in less than 2.2 seconds.
01:20And this is your regular leaf blower.
01:22We use this to cool the engine down as the car comes into the pit box and also to cool
01:28the brakes.
01:28So we've worked with Einhell on this tool to ensure we get the maximum air flow through the brake ducts
01:33and through the radiators of the car to cool them down as quick as possible.
01:37So now I've showed you a couple of the tools, let's get back to some more questions.
01:43Our next question is from YGG.
01:46Dumbest way you've ever lost a tool?
01:48Probably shouldn't say this if Toto's watching, but I was fitting a fuel cell to the car, which are made
01:55out of a Kevlar, very flexible material.
01:57You put the fuel bag into the car and you've got to get your hands right in the corners to
02:01try and get the fuel bag to expand within the cockpit itself, the chassis itself.
02:05I didn't have long enough arms, so I used a hammer, a rubber hammer.
02:08Used it, poked the fuel bag out, fitted the fuel bag fine, fitted the rest of the fuel system, buttoned
02:13all the top hatches on, so it was all ready to go.
02:16Sent the car out and it was probably about a race later that I'd realised I'd lost my hammer and
02:21it was left in the fuel system.
02:22We've had other issues where tools have fallen out of mechanics' hands and they've gone down in between the V
02:29of the engine and the gearbox bell housing and all the rest of the mechanics just look at each other
02:34and go,
02:34Oh my God, now we've got to pretty much take the whole car apart to try and fish this socket
02:39or the spanner out of where this mechanic's dropped the tool.
02:42So normally he's buying the beers on that evening.
02:44A Cora user asks, what is more important in Formula One, the car or the driver?
02:49Obviously we as mechanics would say the car, drivers will say themselves.
02:54An age-old question really, everything has to work together.
02:57The car, the engineers, everybody back at the factory, the engine side of Bricksworth and the driver.
03:04It's a team sport and that's why everybody works together to try and get those final tenths of a second
03:09out of the track time.
03:10This is from Fogarty 4, how to become a Formula One mechanic.
03:14I get asked that question a lot and I think the best advice that I could give you is learn
03:20how to use spanners, learn how to use ratchets and whether that's from when you're a little kid repairing bicycles,
03:26repairing motorbikes, building go-karts.
03:28There are a number of colleges and there's a couple of colleges at Silverson, I believe, that you can go
03:33there, you can train, but actually getting that hands-on experience is vital.
03:37We often take people from the lower formulas, they start in Formula 4, moving their way up to Formula 3,
03:42Formula 2.
03:43So it's a great training ground for mechanics.
03:45And then once you get to us in Formula 1, you know how to use your spanners, you know how
03:49to use torque wrenches.
03:51You've gone through your training, you've dabbled with bicycles when you were a kid, you've worked on your motorbikes, you've
03:56worked on your go-kart, you've gone to college, you've got all your qualifications.
03:59What do you do next?
04:00You've got to get yourself seen.
04:02Pester me.
04:03Pester the guys that are working on the team.
04:05Drop them some emails, get yourself noticed out there.
04:08But certainly, you know, if you're working in the lower formulas, Formula 2, Formula 3, they support a lot of
04:12the F1 races.
04:13So, it's great, you're in there, you're travelling with the teams, so you get to know other people.
04:19I mean, that's super important.
04:20Next thing you've got to deal with is strapping George Russell in the car, on the grid.
04:24You've got to deal with that pressure and, you know, getting used to the amount of people around you, the
04:29cameras, and dealing with all that side of Formula 1.
04:32The travel, and just working within a team environment, being a good team player.
04:36From Gonzo5622, do F1 mechanics get angry when their driver crashes?
04:41Yes, definitely, some more than others.
04:43I try and remain calm, but there's a lot of the guys, the younger ones especially, they can get quite
04:48upset about it.
04:49Obviously, we're at the end of the chain.
04:50There's thousands of people back at the factory producing all the car parts for us to assemble.
04:55The car goes out on track.
04:57If the driver has an accident into the wall or something fails on the car, it's an awful lot of
05:01work for us to start putting that car back together.
05:03And we have to do it often after P1 or P2.
05:07There's a short amount of time for us to repair those cars.
05:09So it's all hands on deck to get that finish and the car back out on track.
05:13So next one's from Mean Divide490.
05:16Explain like I'm 5.
05:18Why are F1 drivers hot if wind is coming at them at 200 to 300 kilometers per hour?
05:23Often we're working in places like Singapore, Qatar, where the ambient is 34, can be 38 degrees.
05:30You've got to remember these drivers are sat in a really confined space.
05:33They've got an engine that's running behind them, incredible high temperatures.
05:37They've got the brakes that are raging hot in front of them.
05:40And they've got all these electrical boxes that sit around them.
05:43So the temperatures in the car can get as high as 48, 50 degrees.
05:47And in fact, now the drivers are wearing cool suits to try and cool them down during the race.
05:51Also, there's small ducts in the side of the car that blow cool air over the drivers to try and
05:57cool them down during the race.
05:58But you'll see in often races, the drivers will get out of the car.
06:01They're absolutely maxed out.
06:02They're so hot.
06:03They can hardly stand when they get out of these cars.
06:05Our next question is from Great Emu War.
06:08Explain like I'm 5.
06:09In Formula 1, why aren't all the drivers given the same car to test who is the fastest?
06:14It's kind of Formula 1, really.
06:15Each car is designed by a different team.
06:17So they will always interpret the rules differently.
06:20And also we've got different engine manufacturers.
06:23So it's not a one-make series.
06:25Everybody designs their own car.
06:27And it's who does the best job will win.
06:29So this is a question from Calva Source.
06:31How does F1 team manage to repair their cars in under a week after a horrible crash?
06:36Often we have to do it in a lot less than a week.
06:38Our shortest time period over a race weekend is from P3 to qualifying, which is three hours.
06:43So we have to repair that car in that time.
06:45Parts will obviously come back to the factory then to get made again.
06:49But yeah, we're often rebuilding cars in less than three hours.
06:52If we have a big accident and we do have to repair the car in three hours,
06:55then what we'll try to do is pull some of the mechanics off the other car.
06:59Obviously we have two cars in the garage.
07:00We've got a group of 15 mechanics on one car, same on the other.
07:04So if we are trying to repair, say, George's car, then we'll take mechanics off of Kimmy's car to start
07:10rebuilding that one.
07:11I remember there was a time in Monaco where we were a very short period of time to get the
07:15car ready for qualifying.
07:16We literally had two people on one of the cars and everybody else was on that one trying to get
07:21it ready for qualifying.
07:22So next one's from M Green Triple Eight.
07:25What hand tool brands do F1 mechanics use?
07:28Lots of teams up and down the pit lane are using a variety of tools.
07:32But above and beyond the normal spanners and the torque wrenches, ratchets that you see, we'll work with different partners.
07:39And one of our partners is Einhell.
07:40So we use some tools like this.
07:42This is great for when the car comes in.
07:44It might have a little bit of damage that we need to just trim off and then use this super
07:48fast setting glue to try and fix the car and get it back out on track.
07:52We also use Einhell fans that's cool the chassis down and the brakes when the car comes into the pits.
07:58So, yeah, lots of different types of tools as well as the normal standard ones that you would use at
08:03home in your garage.
08:03This question is from ConsistentBox4430.
08:07No touching the car rules.
08:08The no touching car rules applies to Park Fermi and curfew times.
08:14So curfew times start on a Wednesday.
08:16The car cover goes on the car and we have to be away from the circuit for a certain amount
08:19of time around about 13 hours.
08:21And then we'll come back in on the Thursday.
08:23We'll work to a certain time.
08:24Then we have to be away from the circuit again.
08:26This all started back in the day where the support that we got from the factories wasn't quite as good
08:31as what it is these days.
08:32So we had to do an awful lot of work at the track and often the guys would be working
08:36all night.
08:37And then they get to work on the car the next day.
08:40They haven't had any sleep.
08:42So it's really done for safety reasons.
08:44Then the other side of it is the non-work in the Park Fermi.
08:48After qualifying, the rule is that you cannot touch anything on the car.
08:52You can't work on the car at all.
08:53We can take body work off.
08:55We can examine.
08:56We can change fluids on the car.
08:58But actually physically changing any of the setup or anything like that we're not allowed to do.
09:02We can do brakes.
09:03We can change fluids on the car.
09:05But mainly it's just a visual check of everything on the cars.
09:08There's another rule of no touching the car.
09:10If we get a 5 second or 10 second penalty at a pit stop for instance.
09:15So you may have seen on TV the car will come into the pit box.
09:18It will stop on the marks.
09:19And everybody just stands there not doing anything.
09:21Obviously that's really unnerving for the mechanics.
09:23Because they're used to just diving on the car and getting the pit stop done.
09:26We have a guy with a big sort of kind of lollipop that goes over the top of the car.
09:31He's there with that.
09:32Counts down as soon as that's lifted.
09:34Then the guys dive in and complete the pit stop.
09:36This non touching rule for the pit stops is really so that we can serve our penalty.
09:41And you don't gain an advantage.
09:43You stop on the marks.
09:44Serve your penalty.
09:45And then you do the pit stop.
09:46This question is from HighOnMoon.
09:48What happens to broken F1 car parts?
09:51Well since the cost cap we try and repurpose all of them.
09:54Broken car parts will come back to the factory here.
09:56What we then try and do is salvage as much as we can to remake the part again.
10:00Often if parts can't be redone or repurposed.
10:04Then they'll get made into some sort of trophies or memorabilia.
10:08Obviously in the cost cap regulations that we have to work to.
10:12Everything we spend if any of the car parts are broken.
10:14It all comes out of the cost cap.
10:16So we need to be really careful to manage those parts.
10:19And either repurpose them or try to recycle them.
10:23Next one is from Von Schitzelberg.
10:25Explain like I'm five.
10:27Why all the F1 race cars look the same?
10:29Because we copy each other.
10:31Same as road car manufacturers.
10:32Obviously everybody is working to super tight regulations.
10:36There's different teams will interpret some of the rules differently.
10:39But if you have a long stretch of rules that have been very similar.
10:42As they have been in the last few years.
10:44Then the cars all evolve to be looking exactly the same.
10:48CowboyN7 asks.
10:49Do F1 teams have specific groups of mechanics that specialise in certain aspects of the car?
10:54Absolutely.
10:54We've got guys that work on the front end of the car.
10:57The rear end of the car.
10:58Hydraulic systems.
10:59Gearbox systems.
11:00And obviously there's all the engineers that are telling all us guys what to do.
11:04Overall the car is 15 mechanics that are working on each car.
11:07Next question is from Quora.
11:09Who decides a driver should make a pit stop?
11:11It's definitely not us as mechanics.
11:12We're there to perform the pit stops.
11:14There's a number of strategists back at the factory.
11:16In what we call a RSR.
11:18Race support room.
11:19And then we have a strategist at the track as well.
11:21The guy at the track will be the final call to make that pit stop.
11:25Which then he will speak to the sporting director.
11:27We'll know what set of tyres that we're going to fit to the car.
11:30The sporting director will come on to me.
11:32And then I will direct all the mechanics out to perform the pit stop.
11:36We're always mandated to make one pit stop during the race.
11:39We have to fit a different compound of tyres to the compound of tyre that we've started the race on.
11:43But you can do that at any point during the race.
11:45The car will come in.
11:46It's my job and the rest of the team to make sure we get the right tyres on the right
11:50car.
11:50Involved in the pit stop we've got around about 24 people.
11:53Three people on each corner.
11:55And that involves a gunman.
11:56As a car stops.
11:57He's gunning that wheel nut off.
11:59The guy taking the wheel off.
12:01Pulls the wheel off.
12:01And then you've got the other guy with the new wheel.
12:04Will come on with the new wheel.
12:05Gunman then guns that up.
12:06Presses a button on his gun.
12:08The stop is done.
12:09The car drops down.
12:11And they will be on his way.
12:12We're always trying to do that in around about 2.2 seconds.
12:14Some people try and go faster.
12:16Our philosophy at Mercedes is we try and make sure every stop is perfect.
12:21Around about 2.2 seconds.
12:23So our next question is at TorquePherson039.
12:26Wait.
12:27F1 cars have wings?
12:28Yes.
12:29And obviously we have to deal with those.
12:30Quite a lot of them actually.
12:32Obviously you've got your front wing.
12:33Your rear wing.
12:33And then we've got these little tiny winglets that are on the brake ducts.
12:37Around the side of the car.
12:38For us they can be really problematic.
12:40And believe it or not there is one department here at the factory that just deals with frontal
12:44rear wings only.
12:45Obviously the wings are there to produce downforce.
12:48You're playing with the amount of downforce you want to get on the car.
12:52The amount of air pressure going down to make it stick to the track.
12:55And also the amount that you want the wings to direct air around the car.
12:59It's that fine balance of getting downforce as well as the slipstream of the car going through the air.
13:04Next one is from HarveyXO.
13:06Do repair costs count towards the cost cap?
13:09Unfortunately they do.
13:10If you've got a driver that is not great at keeping the car on the track.
13:14Or he attracts attention on the track and gets run into a lot.
13:17Then yes there will be a considerable amount of cost to the team for that.
13:21To repair the cars and make sure the body work and everything is renewed and refreshed for the next race.
13:27Next question is from Bledina.
13:29Were F1 garages always this clean?
13:31So I'm taking your seeing those garages on TV.
13:35I've seen pictures 1950s where you've got mechanics smoking in the garages.
13:39They're leaning over the cars fueling the cars up while smoking.
13:42Obviously we wouldn't allow that anymore.
13:44We all become super OCD.
13:46And you look around all the F1 garages.
13:48All the F1 headquarters and the operation centers.
13:52Everything has to be perfect.
13:53And that's how we try to portray the garages.
13:57How we build the cars.
13:58If we make a mistake then it can affect the race.
14:01Obviously we try and keep the garages as clean as we can.
14:04So you know where everything is.
14:06You pull the tool drawer out.
14:07All the tools have their specific place.
14:09So the mechanics can get to those really quickly.
14:11Especially when they're doing changes on the cars during practice sessions.
14:15We've got Toto Wolf walking through the garage.
14:17If he sees something then we need to see it before him.
14:21So we make sure everything is perfect.
14:24And that goes from when you walk from the back of the garage to the front of the garage.
14:27The only time you might see the garages getting a little bit dirty.
14:31And a little bit of chaos.
14:32Is if we have an accident.
14:34Obviously if they go off into the gravel.
14:36The cars will almost disintegrate.
14:39The front suspension, the brake ducts all just end up braking.
14:42So they get brought back to the garage on a low loader truck.
14:47We wheel it off the truck.
14:48And then there's gravel and rubbish everywhere in the garage.
14:51So we've got people trying to sweep that up.
14:53Strip the cars as fast as we can.
14:55Because then we're going to try and build them.
14:56So there is a little bit of chaos.
14:58But it's organized chaos.
14:59Next question is from Relative Manonoff.
15:02An invention from F1 that would be useful in average cars.
15:05Well I think you're seeing that in day-to-day cars now anyway.
15:08You've got all the software that goes into the F1 cars.
15:10Or the sensors.
15:11They're in your day-to-day road car anyway.
15:13Energy recovery systems that we use in F1.
15:16You've got all your hybrid.
15:17Same as what's going on in your road car.
15:20Also some of the materials that we use.
15:22Certainly carbon fibre.
15:23You're seeing that more and more in road cars.
15:25And not only the high-end road cars.
15:27It's coming into the standard road cars these days.
15:30The next one is from Tunatastic369.
15:32What is the biggest lie myth about Formula One.
15:35Which grinds your gears when you hear it.
15:37Yeah I heard a great, great one the other day.
15:40It was from a comedian.
15:41He turned around and said the front jack man was probably one of the highest paid jobs there is at
15:46the moment.
15:46Because he's only doing three seconds of work on a Sunday.
15:49Which obviously is a lie.
15:50What we have is mechanics that work right from a Tuesday before a race.
15:55They're working on those cars right up until the Sunday of the race.
15:58But for us, yeah we can make the difference on the Sunday during that pit stop.
16:03But we've done all the work before.
16:04So practice one, two, three, the cars have come apart multiple times.
16:08That's one of those times where, yeah it's a pretty big myth.
16:11Another myth that I've heard is that we have two pit stop crews.
16:14So George's pit stop crew would service George and Kimmy's crew will service Kimmy.
16:19That's not true.
16:21We have both sets of mechanics come in to do the pit stop on a Sunday.
16:25Which is great because you've got both crews working on the same car.
16:28It doesn't matter what driver they've been working with up until that time.
16:32They all come together.
16:33And that's when we can really make a difference between winning or losing a race.
16:36That's everything for today.
16:37Thanks for watching.
16:38Chief Mechanic Support.
Comments