A Formula 1 driver needs an abundance of skill, a quick car and sometimes luck to be able to win. But their ability to maximise the performance potential of themselves and their car can come down to their race engineer.
The job of an engineer now is quite expansive, and during the races they spend much of their time on the radio either hearing from or delivering messages to their driver. That means their primary responsibility during track sessions is to be able to translate their drivers’ thoughts, feedback and concerns about their car into comments that other members of the team can deliver on.
For example, a complaint about understeer in one corner may require a specific solution that a colleague who is more closely examining the telemetry may have the answer to.
Once the driver is out of the car, the race engineer (and the supporting performance engineer) then spend even more time combining driver comments with data from the car to find areas to improve.
Although some racing purists may find it abhorrent, a modern engineer will also now be responsible for motivating their during their time on track and effectively telling them how to drive faster (or slower) when it comes to choosing from the wide variety of settings the driver can change from within the car.
Clear communication and trust are as important as knowing how to engineer a car, which is why drivers and race engineers tend to stick together once a fruitful relationship emerges. Here’s the rundown of who is engineering who in F1 this year, and how long each of them have been working together.
Red Bull
The title-winning 140-race partnership between Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase continues into an eighth year, and if they get off to a winning start in 2023 then it will be the first time that Verstappen has won the opening race of a season. When things go less well Verstappen “doesn’t hold back”, as he admitted after last year’s season-opener.
Despite F1’s calendar growing to a record 23 events this year, it would be difficult for Verstappen to replicate or better his tally of 15 wins in 2022 as that was a new record for victories in a season. It’s not only one of the must successful driver/engineer combinations on the grid, but also one of the longest lasting.
His team mate Sergio Perez continues with Hugh Bird, who has been his engineer through both of his seasons at Red Bull so far. Together they have won three races,…
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