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Old 11 Mar 2001, 17:03 (Ref:70114)   #1
Sparky
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Sparky should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Not forgetting what happened to the crowd marshall at Melbourne for even one second, spare a thought for those poor mechanics at BAR and Williams. They have been working around the clock since Melbourne to prepare a complete car for Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.

Normally the teams transfer all equipment from track to track for the first three 'Fly-away' races, but this has not been the case for these guys.

From Daily F1:

Quote:
The BAR team is all set for the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend despite preparations being slowed last week by events arising from Jacques Villeneuve’s horror smash in Melbourne.

The team had to travel back to Brackley minus the Canadian’s 03 chassis, as it was required by authorities for use in the investigation of the death of marshal Graham Beveridge.

Mechanics and Engineers worked solidly last week to make up for the loss, which will enable the team to travel to Sepang full strength.

‘The accident put us behind in our production of chassis for the season, but the team will have three cars minimum, potentially four cars in Malaysia,’ said Team Boss Craig Pollock.
The stricken 03 that was involved in the tragic shunt is nothing more than the monocoque and some mechanical components. Investigators have it behind closed doors, as well as Ralf Schumacher’s Williams FW23-BMW.
As I said a the beginning of the post, with the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the race in Australia, I think these unsung heroes of the teams deserve some respect.
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Old 11 Mar 2001, 17:57 (Ref:70124)   #2
RIKB
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RIKB should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
I often wonder how it must feel as a driver to know that your team has been up all night fixing your car, only to have you go out on the track and trash the thing.

I guess that some just see it as part of the game, and others feel really bad about it?
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Old 11 Mar 2001, 20:18 (Ref:70180)   #3
Maximum F1
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Maximum F1 should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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Originally posted by RIKB
others feel really bad about it?
Heh, especially when the team boss gets a hold of them! IoI!
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Old 12 Mar 2001, 17:19 (Ref:70485)   #4
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Tristan should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
When you actually bother to sit down and think about it, the job the mechanics do is MIND BOGGLING. To build a machine of such amazing complexity, tearing off all the damaged bits and pieces, salvaging what they can and reassembling it.......!! Crickey!
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Old 12 Mar 2001, 18:18 (Ref:70508)   #5
Orange
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What do you reckon the impact this will have on JV's drive will be??? Will this put him at a disadvantage??? Hope not!!
any ideas??
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Old 12 Mar 2001, 18:34 (Ref:70515)   #6
Sparky
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Sparky should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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Originally posted by Tristan
When you actually bother to sit down and think about it, the job the mechanics do is MIND BOGGLING. To build a machine of such amazing complexity, tearing off all the damaged bits and pieces, salvaging what they can and reassembling it.......!! Crickey!
I totally agree, Tristan, but in this case, each team is having to completely source and assemble a BRAND NEW car, as the remains of the originals are impounded.
This early in the season, teams don't normally many monocoques prepared and to fly key members of the race teams home (to be familiar with 'their' drivers chassis) get everything together and do the build and get them back to the next overseas round within a fortnight - that's some achievement...

I don't think JV will be that worried, apart from maybe his interpretation of how everybody else thinks it has affected him... do you know what I mean?
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Old 12 Mar 2001, 21:51 (Ref:70601)   #7
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I would think that by now the BAR boys are used to a rebuild. It is probably part of the conditions of employment. Seem to recall that they rebuilt 2 cars after Spa the other year.

Perhaps the first disposable car

Simon
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Old 12 Mar 2001, 23:39 (Ref:70650)   #8
Jeanburrasca81
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Jeanburrasca81 should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
True...it's incredible how many cars Villeneuve smashed to pieces in the last seasons! The guys who rebuilt those cars every time are real unsung heroes!
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Old 13 Mar 2001, 15:08 (Ref:70791)   #9
Tristan
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Tristan should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Jacques Villeneuve, the new Andrea de Chesaris!!
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Old 13 Mar 2001, 15:53 (Ref:70797)   #10
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KC should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridKC should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
Imagine how the mechanics feel when they do a herculean effort to completely rebuild a car so that the driver can go out and compete once more and then something fails on the car. How did the mechanic or toolmaker feel that fabricated the right front a-arm assembly for Mika Hakkinen. It failed at speed on his McLaren and the wreck could have been a lot worse. These guys respect and love the drivers as much as we do and the driver places their life in their hands when he goes out at 110% on cold tires with a new car. Will it hold together? Will it break in half and kill the driver or a marshall or a spectator?

There is also the immense pride they feel when a driver like Jacques Villeneuve walks away from one of the most horrendous crashes with only minor injuries. The engineers and mechanics must have been scared to death when they saw it and then the relief when he got out of the car alive.

I know I take great pride in my work when I design and build a stamping die and it works the way I expected it to and the customer is happy. They must feel the same when they win. But it is also one of the most frustrating and thankless job positions out there. The only real measure of their ability comes from the respect of the drivers and their peers among other teams.
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Old 13 Mar 2001, 16:57 (Ref:70818)   #11
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Liz should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridLiz should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
I have a book about the 1995 season at Williams in which is chronicled the story of a mechanic snatched away from his honeymoon to do several all-nighters on Damon's car before Monza, only to see him stuff it on the first lap.

I hope he thought that was worth it, but somehow I doubt it.

I wonder if anyone is keeping track of how many cars Jacques is smashing up as compared to how many Gilles smashed up? (In Gilles' case I think you only have to count how many he actually drove ... )
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Old 13 Mar 2001, 23:31 (Ref:70974)   #12
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Liz,

Gilles was in inspiration to Ferrari, they would have done anything for him, no matter how many cars he wrecked he was a hero!

To mind my the most modern instance of mechanics displaying emotion was at the 97 Hungarian GP when Hill's Arrows stuck in gear... not a dry eye in the Arrows pit!
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Old 14 Mar 2001, 01:14 (Ref:70989)   #13
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Everyone here knows I am not a fan of TGF. However, to his credit, every time he wins, he goes up to his mechanics and celebrates his win with them, hugging some and shaking hands enthusiastically with others.
We never know who these masked guys are at pit stops but they do a fantastic job during the race as well as before. Everything is times to the split second. Have a look at the pit stops on freeze frame, the cars actually start to move forward before the refueller gets his foot from under the wheel. They have to change wheels when the brake pads are super hot, put their hands inside the pods to clear debris, and any work like replacing a front wing is done knowing that every second could mean a lost place on teh track.
Then there are the marshals, those guys who are maligned because they are waving blue or yellow flags too much or not enough, telling spectators they cannot go into a certain area only to be abused in the foulest language, they have to run onto the track to clear debris or move crashed cars from runoff areas when racing cars are still zooming past, helping drivers out of crashed cars and directing them to safety, and their tasks go on.
We only see the heroes that are standing on the podium, and forget about the other guys without whom we would not have any racing.
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Old 14 Mar 2001, 01:20 (Ref:70992)   #14
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Sparky should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Quote:
"We only see the heroes that are standing on the podium, and forget about the other guys without whom we would not have any racing.
Not me! That's why I started this thread!

But you're right, without the guys we don't see, there would be no show.
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Old 15 Mar 2001, 01:24 (Ref:71284)   #15
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Valve Bounce has been held in scrutiny for further testing
Maybe they should line up the winning team's mechanics on the podium and let the drivers squirt the champagne on them.
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