In contrast to the hyper-specific world of engineers, garage technicians are experts who go into a little bit of everything to help the team get through a racing weekend. This flexibility and diversity makes the role interesting and varied. To find out more, we spoke to Marek Smrek from the Haas F1 Team to see what it takes and how to become one.
What is your role
I am a workshop technician for the Haas F1 Team and I also take care of Nikita Mazepin’s tires. The tires, the wheels and everything are prepared for the race weekend. I also help build the garage.
How do you become a workshop technician?
Take your chance and send us your CV. I have 15 years of experience with different racing teams, different cars and different championships. I’ve also taken on many different roles – from tires to fuel and air to workshop technician.
What qualifications do you need?
It’s hard to say because it’s not that easy to just go to school and say you want to be a workshop technician because people in those roles do pretty much anything. I would say you have to learn your skills through experience. I did that by starting with lower championships and then moving up through the categories. There you learn good ideas and the further up the ladder you can apply them.
Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
What should you learn in school?
It would be best to learn how to become a mechanic and stay in school for as long as possible to learn what you want to do in life. I can only speak for myself and started working as a mechanic after school.
What other skills are useful?
You must have obsessive-compulsive disorder about how you are doing things right. In Formula 1 in particular, everything should be of the highest quality and exactly as it should be. As for the skills, I’m pretty sure 99% of the mechanics have the same skills. They repair, maintain and ensure that everything works properly.
You have to adapt to a situation pretty quickly at times, and this is often how you learn how to do it. You may be asked, “Can you just do this …” and you may never have done it before, but you move on. I have the ability to see something and to know whether it is right or not – and I try to do everything 101% of my ability.
How can I gain work experience?
I would always suggest getting experience by approaching younger, lower formulas and trying to help a team. I’ve worked with a couple of young people from college who didn’t even want to get paid, they just wanted to be in motorsport and see how it worked. Now, years later, some of them work for top teams because they just needed guidance and support, and I’m still in touch with them.
You literally have to start over and listen to what people tell you, especially experienced people. It’s never bad to listen because someone might have a great idea, but you won’t know until you listen.
Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-21, Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Can you take part in races?
Yes, which is perfectly fine with me because once you start using them you can’t live without them anymore. You can’t just go and say I won’t do it this year. You may miss a thing or two and then feel like you really have to go back.
What does a working day look like for you?
There are different days. You come in and build the garage and make sure everything is done and you build this before the mechanics get on the circuit. You prep your tires, prep your wheels, wrap and glue them on the stacks, and make sure everything works correctly – all of your programs are correct. When driving the cars you need to make sure that you are 100% focused. The wheels turn the right way around on the car and everything around it works. You have to work with engineers, and we have lots of them! Everyone has ideas and you will have a lot of people coming to you. They are the link between engineers and the tires on the car. Although hours of operation vary, stick around until the job is done and each day is always busy.
Do you have a role in pit stops?
I don’t because I take care of the tires to make sure they all have the correct pit stop sets and pressure. There are so many changes to the race that the engineers need for the tires in real time.
This article was produced in collaboration with Motorsport Jobs. Find the latest jobs in motorsport, as well as jobs with the Haas F1 Team, on the Motorsport Jobs website.
The post How to become a Formula 1 garage and tire technician – qualifications, skills & more first appeared on monter-une-startup.
