Great expose` on F1 mechanics

I believe most of the big teams give out a decent sized bonus to all mechanics when they win a race/championship etc.

 

Used to be that way, hasn't been for some time. There isn't the money in F1 anymore like the glory days.

My old bonuses weren't that great, certainly nothing to write home about.

 

The world is divided in two:

- people who are not paid enough

- people who are paid too much

I think market forces decide.

 

That seems very unfair to me.

Most drivers cannot perform well, because their car is not up to it; that has nothing to do with the skill or motivation.

Are Alonso and Button responsible for their poor performances during the last 2 years, for example ?

 

+1
Lots of measurements for the teams to play with and incentivise team mates.

I recall plenty of drivers like Schumacher squeezing the max out of a rubbish car, even stuck in 5th gear, and still getting good results.

 

Note how MSC would spend time with the mechanics. Vettel really takes after him in many respects.

 

Very much so.

Back in 2011, fresh after winning his title...Vettel was the ONLY driver that visited the Pirelli factory to understand the tires better. The only one!

Dedication, and smart.

 

In order to run a business well, one should not pay one's employees more than their market value. Anything else is a recipe for financial disaster.

If teams have trouble finding qualified mechanics they will have to increase the pay. Not sure that is happening, as I understand it, there is a line out the door of people who will mechanic an F1 car for the amount the teams are currently paying.

You assert drivers are overpaid yet the number of drivers who can actually race an F1 car around the track is very limited and the value they bring to a team is very high, so that determines their value on the open market.

What you are proposing is nothing more than "to each according to their need". Sound familiar?

As I said, a recipe for financial disaster.

-F

 

I can imagine what they go through. Couple years back i was working for Porsche, and attending races, preparing the circuit, pits, setting up, systems check, i would be lucky to get 4 hours sleep at night. Exciting, but crazy at times. You can't afford to have an 'off' moment or some sort.

 

Yeah, no kidding, no wonder you advocate the things you do.

Do you have employees? If so, do you pay them more than their market value? If so, good luck to you and to your employees.

If a team wants to pay it's mechanics more than their market value and their drivers less than their market value, more power to them.

And what I advocate is neither rigid nor a model, it represents the natural reality of two people engaging in a voluntary transaction and it is supremely flexible. Indeed it is you who are trying to conjure up rigid models made up out of thin air.

What makes mechanics so valuable that they should be paid more than their market worth? If life as a mechanic is so horrible with poor pay they should find work elsewhere. Maybe the local repair shop will value their skills more than an F1 team.

-F

 

Based on my limited exposure to racing thus far, this is pretty much the way it goes at all levels of racing. Mechanics work insane hours with huge stress for mediocre pay. It's also very hard for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle as a result.

In most racing, there is really very little money to be made, so it makes sense that mechanics aren't paid well; no one is paid particularly well. Now with F1, there is a lot of money, but the development is so expensive, that it doesn't trickle down to the mechanics and likely never will. As has been mentioned, there are droves of people waiting around to take their place. Nothing quite like F1 mechanic on the resume.

 

Not sure what that would do - the guys are mainly limited by their cars and regulations, not their ability.

"F1" doesn't control driver salaries. I'm not aware of any sanctioning body, in any sport, that controls salaries. The contract is always between the team and the athlete.

 

Except for rallying, motor racing isn't fun anymore. Real motor racing died when the Indy 500, the greatest race in the world (which used to make the unexciting Le Mans 24 Hours look like crap in its heyday ) switched to a spec formula. I'd rather go out for a Sunday drive than watch overpaid, tatted up, effeminate morons drive around. There's no reason for anyone who owns a real sports car to watch F1. Besides, if something is subsidized, I boycott it. Boycott the caviar socialists in Paris! Boycott the bums!

 

It would be very easy for the Sports Governing Body, whether FIA or FIFA, to introduce an equitable pay scale for racing leagues or football leagues. The fact that plenty of overpaid footballers would otherwise be flipping burgers is secondary. The "market" is BS, fuelled by fear-of-loss by the teams and smooth talking agents. Drivers and footballers would still be in the game if wages were capped at 1M per year. They ain't going to get that flipping burgers, but some might feel optimistic and study for a law degree

 

Extremely odd thinking to me.

Why exactly are we capping wages? Because you have arbitrarily decided that the players make too much money? How much is ok for the team to make?

Are the people signing the contracts adults? Why do you think they need government help?

Why do athletes need law degrees? Do we expect lawyers to be able to sprint 40 yards at blazing speed and kick a football 70 mph?

 

And yet, there is no shortage of people willing to act as a mechanic on an F1 car. In fact, there are probably multiple candidates for each job opening. That is the market mechanism telling teams they are at about the right spot regarding pay for mechanics. Maybe even a bit high.

-F

 

...and I bet very few would say they regret having done it. Too bad Ian isn't around to give us his take ; ( RIP brother.

 

When I was an IBanker on Wall Street, I remember reading that IBankers weren't being paid what they were because they were so valuable to the company. Rather, they were being paid what they were because the job was so horrible, and that's what the company had to pay to get someone to do it.

CW

 

A driver or footballer demanding £10M per year will actually accept £1M per year. Where else are they going to earn such money ? Teams have the power to dictate terms, not the driver or their slick agent

 

Amen

 

I don't agree with that.

Good staff are not just a commodity in a business, they are often the basis of its success.

Careful recruitment, comprehensive training and above average wages are essential to obtain motivation, and have an experienced workforce.

When employees are well treated, they stay loyal to their employer and this avoids the crippling costs of constant staff turnover in a business.