Andrew Eva at  F1 - Silverstone

Andrew Eva, Pro Tour’s chief scrutineer shares some of his experiences from the Silverstone F1 Grand Prix with us.

Andrew attended the Silverstone F1 GP event at the invitation of Peter Riches who is the chief scrutineer at Silverstone and was in South Africa earlier this year as the technical delegate for the FIA at the A1 GP where Andrew headed up the South African scrutineers for A1.

…… In his low key and unflappable style Andrew relates some highlights of his awesome experience ……..

“I was knocked over by the sheer size of the event and the extent of organisation is unbelievable. Ranging from the campsite for the officials to the entry tickets, everything is planned to the finest detail and all the accreditation is sorted out well beforehand.

The official’s campsite is well thought out and makes traffic considerations much less of a problem as you only need to walk 200m to get access to the pits. In addition, you cannot arrive late due to all the traffic getting into the circuit.

Once in the paddock area, you realise that this is a very professional system. It is immediately noticeable that all the team trucks are parked at the same angle and all in line and spotless.

Each team has hospitality areas. Now these are impressive, some are 2 stories high others 3 or 4 stories high. They all have full kitchens and bar areas and are used by the team to entertain. Apart from this, the drivers have their own rooms for changing etc.

Pre - event scrutineering involves making sure all the safety equipment is in place, that includes helmets, race suits, gloves, boots and fire proof underwear. All the safety stickers have to be on the cars and templates are used to make sure that the safety cells etc are not too small. Should anything be wrong a report is sent to the Technical Delegate.

Starting from the Friday morning the campsite looks like a squatter camp with the wide variety of inhabitants and abodes, yet all get on and the organisers certainly had catered properly for the needs by having enough shower and toilet facilities.

Security into the circuit is strict and very well managed. It is most interesting to see that the public accept the rules and don’t cause problems or create issues.

From observers to tyre scanners, we attended a briefing session every day as to what was expected from us for the day’s work. As an observer, I was tasked with standing in the Williams pit to observe all the work they did on either of the two cars driven by Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. This was certainly an eye opener, as you are an independent observer to make sure that all the rules that pertain to F1 are observed.

Free practice sessions are not too complicated. Qualifying is another story, they are only allowed to change tyres, and you are there to make sure nothing else is changed. At the end of qualifying you attach FIA seals to all body parts, gearboxes and other components.

On the Friday night I had the pleasure of observing McLaren, Renault and Toyota changing gear ratios. All gearboxes have to run 4 events. The only changes allowed are to gear ratios, no other components in the gearbox may be changed. The ‘boxes are sealed after the ratios are changed. You would think that all gearboxes are the same, guess again. The positions in relation to the drive shafts and flywheels all differ. The way the ratios go in and out also differs. Some require the whole cluster to be removed others can take the gears off the shafts.

On Sunday you spend the day with the team in the their pit, purely to observe that nothing is changed without permission. On Nakajima’s car a small bolt had scoured and damaged the left front disk and caliper. The team manager had to ask for written permission to change it. Once this is received you observe to make sure that only the relevant parts are removed. These are then placed in a suitcase, which is then sealed. The professionalism and attention to detail of the teams is incredible. Every individual knows their jobs and what is required of them. For good measure, the car has all of its body parts removed and polished inside and out.

Preparation is continuously in progress, so, the warm up process to the gearbox and motor starts at 10h00 on race day. This is because the tolerances are so small that if you started the motor cold it would seize immediately. Once the right temperature is obtained, the motor is then started and run for 10 minutes, with all the gears being engaged. Thereafter the motor, gearbox and all fluids are kept at temperature until the car leaves for the grid.

As the observer you are given the privilege of standing on the grid with the team. You remain there until the cars leave on the sighting lap. It is impossible to try and describe the feeling when they all leave the grid on the sighting lap. Let’s put it this way - It still gives me goose bumps when I think about it.

During the race you remain in the team pit and observe all work during the pit stops, this includes scanning the tyres that are removed from the car. It is simply amazing to watch the transformation of the calm where the mechanics are sitting watching the monitors one minute and then turns into to the hive of organized chaos that occurs when the pit stop happens the next.

Once the race is finished your duties are not finished. You are now given the task of making sure that all the weights, tolerances and compliances are correct. All cars are weighed on a weighbridge and then templates are used to check amongst other things, the ride heights and diffuser sizes. Fuel samples are taken and ECU’s are also checked.

For me, the worst part was now … at the end of the event. Why? Because it was actually a bit of an anti climax after all the work in which you have been involved is finished and you are no longer needed. All of the focus and intensity that so quickly gets dismantled and the show rolls on …..

One thing is for certain though, this was an experience that I will not forget. With the valuable experience and knowledge acquired I have the details of what is realistically achieved at the highest level in motor sport technical compliance and scrutineering amongst other aspects. What a great yardstick for us to use and aspire to here at home.

All in all, an awesome experience and my sincere thanks to those who contributed in a number of ways towards making this trip a reality for me. I will be maintaining the bridges that we have built in the future”

- return -