Getting started in Ferrari

Jeff, no need to apologize for your question. Maybe someone here can assist. Based on your location in Jacksonville, the closest 2 Ferrari dealerships would be in Orlando and Atlanta. Maybe also try for a more local Ferrari repair shop. I am not familiar with your area. Maybe someone else may know. Good luck.

 

Orlando or Atlanta are your closest dealers.
There are some shops in your area that work independent.
In general tough biz. You are not paid well although the shop rate is significant over your Ford rate.
F-1 is probably a dream that you likely not realize. Most of their techs come from the engine manufacturer or the chassis production company. In Ferraris case most all of them are Italian or English and have significant F1 experience.

The old days are over where the rocky gets a chance. Too much at stake but hey you can apply and see where it takes you. If you are good the sky is your limit. Truely though most money is earned by fixing them at your own shop. If you are good with good experience you can make some good money.

Good luck.

 

Jeff, I agree fully with Martin's less-than-pleasing dose of realism regarding your Formula One ambitions at this stage of the game, but there is a whole world of opportunity out there for a guy like you. As one of a batallion of middle-aged guys waging war on keeping an affordable masterpiece in perfect shape (first an '83 Mondial Cab, now an '87 328 GTS), a guy like you -- experienced, seasoned, proven but still hungry to learn and with a love for Ferrari...c'mon, bud! It's like Martin said...hang up your shingle in Jax or wherever and rock n' roll.

Yes, it is true that Ferraris are somewhat intimidating machines, parts are pricey, etc., but I can tell you this from the standpoint of someone about as mechanically inept as any Ferrari owner I have ever met: I became a private pilot in the years between the time I owned the Mondial and my new 328. Like type-specific aircraft sites, Ferrarichat.com and other sites offer a wealth of information, tips, and a legion of free experts ready to give you a hand when you need it. Heck, I thought I had a stuck throttle when I brought the 328 home till I read a "True Confessions" page in here somewhere from a bunch of guys who, like me, got the carpet mat stuck under the pedal and raced the engine all the way home...

Another point: I know you are confident about your technicals skills and that's great, but if you have never been in business on your own, take a good, hard look at co-opping with someone with an existing operation interested in expanding to Ferrari. That'll let you focus on the mechanical end of things without drowning you in the minutiae of business details at the same time.

Last thing: F-1 may be a stretch, but is $75 an hour for tuning a proctologist's F-40 such a bad deal? Hmmmmm?

 

Gauging from what I've observed of mechanics in racing (CART, ALMS, etc.) there is a high burnout factor as well. The type of commitment needed to be a mechanic in F-1, CART, etc. is huge.

You're looking at a 365 days per year commitment with a constant load of
factory shop, traveling to testing, testing, travel to race, back to testing,
back to factory, etc. Home life? Forget it.

It would seem to be an endless cycle and at least what I saw in CART, there rarely are the same mechanics on any given team year to year. My experience working with the (former) Alumax-Bettenhausen Motorsport team, I may say there was perhaps an 85% turnover rate at the end of each season. Frankly, I dont know how they do it.

Getting into a top tier F-1 team such as Ferrari would be a lengthy process and the intra-squad competition would be fierce to get ahead. Most teams either draft in appretences from their factories, many of which are plucked from military backgrounds (many with experience on air craft carriers, jet mechanics or other military type vehicles, etc.) as the dicipline needed to be a top racing mechanic is nearly on the level of the military.

Talking with top racing mechanics is usually very interesting as they have
great stories to tell but little time to tell them. The guy to talk to about
Ferrari would be Lucianco Scanzoni (hope that spelling is correct) in Sarasota as he was a Ferrari factory mechanic in the '70's for drivers like Lauda and
Reggazoni.

The advice offered in this thread is good, take it. Open your own shop, make
contacts and perhaps if you're still interested to go racing, do some one-offs
in the ALMS at big events like Sebring where teams are always looking for extra hands and if you still have the taste to continue, go for it.

A top mechanic is not a parts hanger or "technician". Rather, a top mechanic
will fix the faulty part(s) and have them back and running again. This is more
artisianship than anything else and these types of mechanics are very few and far between.

BHW