gnasty gnome:
… but one thing he did tell me is , as others have said, you end up doing a fair bit of the cooking etc.
I’d only cook on the first day - they wouldn’t want me to cook again. 
Stan
Most F1 teams get truck drivers though driving agencys most are self employed and drive out to the circuit, wash and polish the trucks AND trailers and then fly home.They then fly out on saturday help pack up on sunday night then drive home.Then what ever time you get back to the factory you then have to wash down again.
The money is about £170/£180 per day No sleeping in the trucks always hotels.
my mate worked for a Mercedes dealer as a technician, he got asked last year if he wanted a jolly from the mecedes engine factory to Paul Ricard for Mclaren on a test week. Double Manned down there, then sat in a hotel waiting for a call to take it all back. never did anything else. Most of the other drivers all had the Mclaren uniform, suitcases etc but were self employed.
jammy git 
Personnel Dept
Formula one Management ltd
Sapphire house
Churchill way
Biggin Hill
Kent
TN16 3BN
01959 579000
01959 540679
01959 573295
None of the local drivers will work for them, make of that what you want.
DT@Leightonhaul:
Does any one know any one or anything bout driving for the F1 teams?? I fancy going down that route in possibly a year or so,so any info greatly appreciated.
You won’t get anywhere near an F1 team unless you have a history of working in a motorsport environment, eg a history of working in lower classes, most if not all the truckies are also extremely competent mechanics, most will have diplomas in such, and then would have worked there way into in race team via the testing team, remember that these are two very sepperate outfits, and will rarely see each other 
What truckies will not do is drive to the curcuit on wednesday, park up, make the tea and generally spectate 
If you fill the above criteria (you’re not thick, but you’re %110 committed) you want to get into F1 in a couple of years apply now to opened wheeled or even gp2 teams doing full european seasons (knowing where a circuit is geographically is always a bonus)
I have done a few jobs with the bike racing, either testing or racing.
As a truck driver, you will be more suitably qualified as a hotel cleaner or valeter. From waking to way past dark you will polish, count, fetch carry and take.
I was fortunate in that my other job during the race was on pitlane giving information to my rider from a radio headset. This doesnt mean you get to see the racing, you are too busy trying to write the lap times down, work out the splits and get the pit board updated for the next lap 
After your race you are back in the garage with your duster and polish. When all the races are over, you get to rip the garage apart, stow everything in its bags, protective covers and place for everything, everything in its place and drive the truck back to base or the next meeting.
It will not suit everybody, it is very hard work and you are under the spotlight 24/7 as journalists, fans and other teams are trying to get you to show or say something others will regret
well guys,think i might have a chance then,I’ve spent the last 26 years as a mechanic the last 11 of them working exclusively on BMW and the last 6 years as the owner of a garage specialising in BMW plus i also have a background in karting so think i might b looking at the end of the season in the lower classes,thanx again for your comments.DT
DT@Leightonhaul:
well guys,think i might have a chance then,I’ve spent the last 26 years as a mechanic the last 11 of them working exclusively on BMW and the last 6 years as the owner of a garage specialising in BMW plus i also have a background in karting so think i might b looking at the end of the season in the lower classes,thanx again for your comments.DT
Bloody hell.
With that sort of background,I would be writing to Sir Frank Williams,and see what he has to offer.
Ken.
DT@Leightonhaul:
i see it as a way of travelling europe without doing the rock & roll tours.Once again many many thanx.
And what, may i ask, is wrong with the rock’n’roll tours 
Geoff:
No sleeping in the trucks always hotels
Yeah, checking-in …rather than dossing-in would get my vote every time.
Quinny:
DT@Leightonhaul:
well guys,think i might have a chance then,I’ve spent the last 26 years as a mechanic the last 11 of them working exclusively on BMW and the last 6 years as the owner of a garage specialising in BMW plus i also have a background in karting so think i might b looking at the end of the season in the lower classes,thanx again for your comments.DTBloody hell.
With that sort of background,I would be writing to Sir Frank Williams,and see what he has to offer.
Ken.
That might not be a good idea, Williams use Toyota engines 
Nothing wrong with the R & R tours kindle but i dont think my wifee would wear me being away for the legnth of time some of you guys are!!!
As somebody said I’m a truckie, I work for a GP2 Team, but as we work alongside F1 in Europe I have a pretty good idea what that job involves.
There are basically to types of F1 truckie.
1st are the blokes who actually work for the race team, doing tyres, fuel and pit stops. cleaning the cars and generally keeping the garage running. Although most have a HGV licence they will rarely drive a truck. I know some who haven’t driven a truck since they started on F1. They travel the World with the team and are paid well. We have an ex Super Aguri mech working for us and he says that the starting pay for working in the race team was £40,000 pa. And I’ve heard similar figures from other teams, and there are bonuses on top of that.
These Jobs are advertised, but they ask for either F1 or GP2, WSR or similar experience.
2nd are the Truck drivers, normally ex-truckies who now work for agencies who specialise in this work. They drive the trucks for the teams clean them and set them up and then get flown home on Wednesday and flown back on Sunday.
£170 a day sounds about what I’ve heard, but obviously they have very little work in the winter and go and work on General Haulage.
There are also other truck driver jobs on the F1 circuit.
Bridgestone take on HGV drivers as tyre fitters, it’s hard work and not that well paid, but it’s a good way into motor racing and they are in the pit lane during the races taking tyre temperatures.
Then you’ve got FOM who run all the stuff like timing systems and feeds to monitors.
The Hospitality companies, but your job is likely to be a mixture of driving setting up then working behind the scenes, making sure the high and mightly get their grub and champagne.
Then you’ve got people like myself who work in the lower formulas. There 3 of these on the European Circuit. GP2, Porsche and Formula BMW.
We have two truckies on our team. My main job at a race w/e is to do tyres, the other guy does fuel.
But we also have to get the truck to and from the circuit, set-up awning if the team is on a late flight… Keep the place tidy, load the trolley’s to get to the pit lane and then work in the pit lane. I make sure the right tyres go on the right car at the right time and are the correct pressure and check the pressures when the cars come in. We have 4 sets of slicks and 3 sets of wets for each car on a race w/e. And if the wrong tyres go on the car then it will be disqualified. I’m also front jack man at pit stops.
Back at the workshop we have to re-stock the truck, keep all the kit clean and serviced and get ready to get the truck out again.
The pay is not F1 pay but it’s good for a truck driver in this area and when away everything is paid for and you are put up in hotels. You do get respect from the people you work with including the drivers as they all understand you are an important part of the team.
muckles:
‘…I’m also front jack man at pit stops…’
Yikes…not too many pies in your lark then?
muckles:
As somebody said I’m a truckie, I work for a GP2 Team, but as we work alongside F1 in Europe I have a pretty good idea what that job involves.There are basically to types of F1 truckie.
1st are the blokes who actually work for the race team, doing tyres, fuel and pit stops. cleaning the cars and generally keeping the garage running. Although most have a HGV licence they will rarely drive a truck. I know some who haven’t driven a truck since they started on F1. They travel the World with the team and are paid well. We have an ex Super Aguri mech working for us and he says that the starting pay for working in the race team was £40,000 pa. And I’ve heard similar figures from other teams, and there are bonuses on top of that.
These Jobs are advertised, but they ask for either F1 or GP2, WSR or similar experience.2nd are the Truck drivers, normally ex-truckies who now work for agencies who specialise in this work. They drive the trucks for the teams clean them and set them up and then get flown home on Wednesday and flown back on Sunday.
£170 a day sounds about what I’ve heard, but obviously they have very little work in the winter and go and work on General Haulage.There are also other truck driver jobs on the F1 circuit.
Bridgestone take on HGV drivers as tyre fitters, it’s hard work and not that well paid, but it’s a good way into motor racing and they are in the pit lane during the races taking tyre temperatures.
Then you’ve got FOM who run all the stuff like timing systems and feeds to monitors.
The Hospitality companies, but your job is likely to be a mixture of driving setting up then working behind the scenes, making sure the high and mightly get their grub and champagne.Then you’ve got people like myself who work in the lower formulas. There 3 of these on the European Circuit. GP2, Porsche and Formula BMW.
We have two truckies on our team. My main job at a race w/e is to do tyres, the other guy does fuel.
But we also have to get the truck to and from the circuit, set-up awning if the team is on a late flight… Keep the place tidy, load the trolley’s to get to the pit lane and then work in the pit lane. I make sure the right tyres go on the right car at the right time and are the correct pressure and check the pressures when the cars come in. We have 4 sets of slicks and 3 sets of wets for each car on a race w/e. And if the wrong tyres go on the car then it will be disqualified. I’m also front jack man at pit stops.
Back at the workshop we have to re-stock the truck, keep all the kit clean and serviced and get ready to get the truck out again.
The pay is not F1 pay but it’s good for a truck driver in this area and when away everything is paid for and you are put up in hotels. You do get respect from the people you work with including the drivers as they all understand you are an important part of the team.[/list][/url]
Happy Keith:
muckles:
‘…I’m also front jack man at pit stops…’Yikes…not too many pies in your lark then?
Yep! I can be pretty nimble when the lollipop goes up and the driver floors it.
The worse bit is when the cars coming at you because he’s supposed to stop on the jack. They are pretty good normally, but when it’s a bit wet or they are having an off day they sometimes aren’t that good and either lock the brakes at the last moment or overshoot the stop point.
Have you thought about working for 1 of the tyre companies?? Aperson I know works for Bridgestone, not as ‘glamorous’ as a F1 truckie, but you still go to all the races throughout Europe (all classes) so you will still get to see the sights, and at 1st guess would most prob be easyier to get in, cos I bet F1 truckie is a ‘dead mans shoes’ job. Just a thought anyway
FOTO:
DT…I’ve worked extensively with quite a few of the F1 teams over the past ten years. I still keep in touch with a few of the minor (and major) people. The first thing you need to understand is that driving the transporters is but a small part of what would be (your) bigger picture. For example, I know two guys who work for Ferrari F1. They each drive Stralis transporters too and from each (road accessible) race. One of them is the guy who fills the cars with fuel when they stop, the other lifts the cars at the front. I think it goes without saying that neither job is for the faint hearted! I know the fuel guy was set alight whilst refuelling Schumacher’s car 2001!
Both of these two guys practice their part over and over again. Day in, day out. Both back in Italy and at each circuit they visit. The point I’m trying to make is that they are all race team members first, truck drivers second. Almost everyone I’ve ever met in F1 rose up through the ranks of junior racing series. The guy who lifts the cars for Ferrari came from what was then Nelson Piquet’s Lotus team. If you’ve got a genuine interest in motorsport, then working for one of the lesser teams (DTM, A1 GP, etc.) is definitely your way in. The money will be crap, the hours long, but you’ll get there in the end. At some point you’ll bump in to one of the bigger people. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. As for jumping straight in, I would consider that to be an extremely lucky option. One which probably doesn’t exist. Unless, as stated above, you can cook!
In summary, these people eat, live and sleep motorsport. 24/7, 365. It’s a very different world - and one you have to totally immerse yourself in.
Good luck, if you do make it!
Tom
Couldn’t have put it better myself,
I didn’t really have a great intrest in motorsport before I start, but saw an advert in the local paper (only a couple of lines) for a truckie for a Formula Ford team, phoned up to find I was one of 50 applicants. I wasn’t the first one they offered the job to, but he only last 2 weeks and that’s when I got the job.
It was one hell of a culture shock from General Haulage. 
As FOTO said driving is a very minor part of the job, I cen tell you about the obvious things like doing tyres and fuel and keeping things clean and tidy. But the job can be as varied as the teams.
I’ve designed and run the teams and drivers website, done shopping, picked up people from airports, applied for the companies operators licence, repaired bodywork throught he night to get the car back out., started building a car through the winter because they couldn’t get a mechanic. Taken mechanics to hospital then gone back and run their cars.
To do the job you just need to be willing to be flexible and do anything that’s neede dto get the cars out on the track.
Saying that after 4 years with this team and not stopping since january I’m thinking of moving on. Not sure what yet whether to another team or back onto haulage. But like all jobs if the management isn’t right and you don’t get your own time to keep up with family and freinds then it gets to out wiegh the good bits.
Well make sure you let us know when you hand your notice in muckles
chrisgoddard:
Well make sure you let us know when you hand your notice in muckles
Sorry 
The jobs already gone. We took on a lad last years to work on our formula BMW team. but sadly it never happened, we got rid of the mechanics, but because he was good and we are running an Asian series we kept him on.
One thing you have got going for anybody who wants to get into this job is there is a shortage of good truckies. We advertised in Autosport last year and got very few replies and none of the 10 people we interviewed were what we wanted. The lad we took on was working with my brother but had enough of General Haulage, he was employed because of his attitude not his experience.