GP Racing - UK (2020-04)

front of them. Ironically, the needto display such a plethora of

information is the very mechanism that stops those on the pitwall

from actually seeing any live track action and, with full track video

coverage, there is actually no need to see the track.

So what are thesepeople doing? The answer does vary from

team to team, but typically the team principal will take centre

stage. Ultimately the buck stops here, although in general the team

principal will take a true strategic role more than an operational

one. I use the word ‘strategic’ advisedly, and mean by this that the

big decisions – such aswhether to retire a car if the other car has

suffered an unexplained mechanicalfailure that may endanger the

driver of the car still running.

The team principalwill normally be

flanked by the team manager and chief

engineer. The role of the team manager now

is to ensure compliance with the sporting

regulations and to maintain contact, via an

intercom system, withthe ra ce director. He

is also generally responsible for theentire

pit crew and ultimately for the human

performance of the pitstop crew.

The chiefengineerwill generally be

responsible for the operation of the cars.

I would always impress upon the chief

engineer, and indeed the race engineers,

that they had four major itemsto consider

and thatthey should always consider them

in the order of safety, legality, reliability

and performance. That is sometimes a

shock to those who think thatperformance

is everything, but keeping that order of

INSIDER

PATSYMONDS

UNDER

THE

HOOD

The pitwall stand is,by any standards, an

anachronism in modern F1. In the last couple of

teams I have been with I have campaigned to get

rid of it and save a considerable amount of freight

weight, but to no avail. So why is it so important

and what is going on at the pitwall while the cars

are running?

Strangely, although I still regard it as an

anachronism, stationing people at the pitwall has

not always been the norm. Indeed, time was when

there was no pitwall. It appears the trend started

when it became necessary to communicate with

the driver and this was, of course, long before the

advent of radios in motorsport.

The pit signaller would put relevant information

on a pit board to inform the driver of his position,

the gaps to the cars in front and behind him, and

the number of laps before his fuel stopor the

end of the race. Bizarrely, in these days of clear

duplex voice communication and a dashboard

with on-board diagnostic and information systems

that probably exceed the sophisticationof early

space vehicles, we still find a need to put plastic

numbers in an aluminium frame and wave them

in the vague direction of a driver who is passing at

anything up to 200mph.

The argument is always advancedthat they are

necessary in case of radio failures and yes, radio

failuresdo hap pen, butthey are very infrequent

these days, and in case of a failure a backup

system could be available.

More interesting is the role of the personnel

sitting on the stand with a bank of monitors in

DATA-DRIVEN F1

STILL NEEDS

OLD METHODS

PICTURES

:DA

RRYLSTEWAR

T;STEVENTEE

.ILLUSTRATION

:BENJAMIN

WA

CHENJE

24 GP RACING APRIL 2020

Old-schoolpitwalls,suchasthis

onein Adelaidein1989,were

basicandwereTVscreenfree

PICTURES

front of them. Ironically, the needto display such a plethora of

information is the very mechanism that stops those on the pitwall

from actually seeing any live track action and, with full track video

coverage, there is actually no need to see the track.

So what are thesepeople doing? The answer does vary from

team to team, but typically the team principal will take centre

stage. Ultimately the buck stops here, although in general the team

principal will take a true strategic role more than an operational

one. I use the word ‘strategic’ advisedly, and mean by this that the

big decisions – such aswhether to retire a car if the other car has

suffered an unexplained mechanicalfailure that may endanger the

driver of the car still running.

The team principalwill normally be

flanked by the team manager and chief

engineer. The role of the team manager now

is to ensure compliance with the sporting

regulations and to maintain contact, via an

intercom system, withthe ra ce director. He

is also generally responsible for theentire

pit crew and ultimately for the human

performance of the pitstop crew.

The chiefengineerwill generally be

responsible for the operation of the cars.

I would always impress upon the chief

engineer, and indeed the race engineers,

that they had four major itemsto consider

and thatthey should always consider them

in the order of safety, legality, reliability

and performance. That is sometimes a

shock to those who think thatperformance

is everything, but keeping that order of

INSIDER

PATSYMONDS

UNDER

THE

HOOD

The pitwall stand is,by any standards, an
anachronism in modern F1. In the last couple of
teams I have been with I have campaigned to get
rid of it and save a considerable amount of freight
weight, but to no avail. So why is it so important
and what is going on at the pitwall while the cars
are running?
Strangely, although I still regard it as an
anachronism, stationing people at the pitwall has
not always been the norm. Indeed, time was when
there was no pitwall. It appears the trend started
when it became necessary to communicate with
the driver and this was, of course, long before the
advent of radios in motorsport.
The pit signaller would put relevant information
on a pit board to inform the driver of his position,
the gaps to the cars in front and behind him, and
the number of laps before his fuel stopor the
end of the race. Bizarrely, in these days of clear
duplex voice communication and a dashboard
with on-board diagnostic and information systems
that probably exceed the sophisticationof early

space vehicles, we still find a need to put plastic

numbers in an aluminium frame and wave them

in the vague direction of a driver who is passing at

anything up to 200mph.

The argument is always advancedthat they are

necessary in case of radio failures and yes, radio

failuresdo hap pen, butthey are very infrequent

these days, and in case of a failure a backup

system could be available.

More interesting is the role of the personnel

sitting on the stand with a bank of monitors in

DATA-DRIVEN F1

STILL NEEDS

OLD METHODS

PICTURES

:DA

RRYLSTEWAR

T;STEVENTEE

.ILLUSTRATION

:BENJAMIN

WA

CHENJE

24 GP RACING APRIL 2020

Old-schoolpitwalls,suchasthis

onein Adelaidein1989,were

basicandwereTVscreenfree

PICTURES