The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane

Entertaining insight into the garage of an F1 team with plenty of entertaining stories. Really enjoyable book.

This is an enjoyable inside account of the day to day realities of what it is like to be a mechanic in an F1 team.It is quite general so is not too technical which is positive for the casual F1 fan or those who are not mechanically minded. It casts McLaren in a new light showing that it is not entirely the ultra professional team they wish to portray and that at least the mechanics can have a laugh.It contains lots of interesting stories of what it is like to work in F1 and the camaraderie between mechanics. A bit more tell all info in places, particularly about Ron Dennis would have been nice but what there were was very interesting. It was very interesting to read a mechanic’s view of the feelings about having an unproved rookie in the form of Lewis Hamilton in the team and the challenging 2007 season.There are lots of fun stories of the mechanics behaving badly, of particular interest is the story about filling Kimi’s gloves with blue dye and Kimi’s subsequent revenge. It shows that Kimi can be a warm and friendly guy and is up for a laugh.Overall, this is a fun account of what it is like to be a mechanic and a good read for an F1 fan. A bit more serious insight in places would have been nice though. It strikes a good balance between insight and drunken tales though and is enjoyable to read.

A genuinely hilarious read about the hedonistic days of F1 when the sport was awash with tobacco money.Well worth reading even if your interest in motor sport is minor.

Good insights into the inner workings of an F1 garage. Well told and very enjoyable!

Good read

I was disappointed that Marc's book which is very well written by the way, did not cover the pit lane as I expected. Certainly we learn what life was like 'outside' of the garage in the mechanics rare time off. And the many Kimi fans will I'm sure enjoy the rare insights into his world. What was missing for me were the 'secrets of the pit lane' itself. There is little material covering the broader activity of the garage and pit lane during Grand Prix weekends, and mentions of Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh in their race capacities are almost non-existent. There is however plenty from Marc's experience as a pit stop crew member and the stresses and strains and maybe that will be enough for most readers. Maybe I was expecting too much from the books sub title, others will I'm sure be well satisfied.

A good insight to the garage and factory works of a F1 team

Interesting and good look into the world of F1