Auto123.com had the chance to spend one full day in the garage of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team during the weekend of the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal.
People outside the F1 race teams are very rarely invited to see what's going behind the closed doors of the garages. When the cars take on to the track, access to the garage is more restricted than ever. We take you inside the Red Bull Racing garage...
9:30 am
The Renault V-8 engines are being warmed up. The sound inside the garage is unbearable and the heat is quickly insupportable. Then, drivers David Coulthard and Mark Webber arrive, ready to drive.
10:05 am
The two cars leave the garage and take on to the track for just one lap, called the installation lap. The team perform a radio check to see if they can ear their drivers all around the track. Team Red Bull Racing does not rely on plain walkie-talkies but sophisticated digital radios.
10:07 am
Both cars are back inside the garages and the mechanics check all components, looking for leaks or loose parts. "DC" and Webber get out of their cars.
10:26 am
Webber is about to return in action after the brakes of the RB4 were bled. "Make sure you lock up the wheels to check if the pedal is coming back all the way," tells him his engineer.
10:28 am
"We need to do a top lap on the next run," tells the Renault engineer to Guillaume Rocquelin, nicknamed "Rocky', DC's race engineer. At Red Bull, Frenchmen and Brits work hand-in-hand.
10:44 am
The engineers help their drivers by guiding them in traffic. "Big gap front and behind". They also give them orders, such as "Mapping map 5... Mapping map 5". Meanwhile, Helmut Marko, Dietrich Mateschitz's right hand man, stands at the back the garage, taking notes.
11:01 am
The track is almost dry. « The next run will be on dry tires. Set No. 1, please," Rocky tells his crew, as clam and polite as usual. "And add 2 turns on the front wings". The tires are heated up to 80 degrees C before they are installed on the car. Colder than that, they provide no grip whatsoever.
11:26 am
"Last timed lap, David," says Guillaume to DC. The session is over and the team is happy with their performance. Webber is 7th, DC is 8th.
11:31 am
Both cars are back inside the garages. Drivers and engineers meet right away while the mechanics dismantle the car to inspect each component. The lunch hour is quickly over and it's already time to compete in the second practice session.
People outside the F1 race teams are very rarely invited to see what's going behind the closed doors of the garages. When the cars take on to the track, access to the garage is more restricted than ever. We take you inside the Red Bull Racing garage...
9:30 am
The Renault V-8 engines are being warmed up. The sound inside the garage is unbearable and the heat is quickly insupportable. Then, drivers David Coulthard and Mark Webber arrive, ready to drive.
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The two cars leave the garage and take on to the track for just one lap, called the installation lap. The team perform a radio check to see if they can ear their drivers all around the track. Team Red Bull Racing does not rely on plain walkie-talkies but sophisticated digital radios.
10:07 am
Both cars are back inside the garages and the mechanics check all components, looking for leaks or loose parts. "DC" and Webber get out of their cars.
10:26 am
Webber is about to return in action after the brakes of the RB4 were bled. "Make sure you lock up the wheels to check if the pedal is coming back all the way," tells him his engineer.
10:28 am
"We need to do a top lap on the next run," tells the Renault engineer to Guillaume Rocquelin, nicknamed "Rocky', DC's race engineer. At Red Bull, Frenchmen and Brits work hand-in-hand.
10:44 am
The engineers help their drivers by guiding them in traffic. "Big gap front and behind". They also give them orders, such as "Mapping map 5... Mapping map 5". Meanwhile, Helmut Marko, Dietrich Mateschitz's right hand man, stands at the back the garage, taking notes.
11:01 am
The track is almost dry. « The next run will be on dry tires. Set No. 1, please," Rocky tells his crew, as clam and polite as usual. "And add 2 turns on the front wings". The tires are heated up to 80 degrees C before they are installed on the car. Colder than that, they provide no grip whatsoever.
11:26 am
"Last timed lap, David," says Guillaume to DC. The session is over and the team is happy with their performance. Webber is 7th, DC is 8th.
11:31 am
Both cars are back inside the garages. Drivers and engineers meet right away while the mechanics dismantle the car to inspect each component. The lunch hour is quickly over and it's already time to compete in the second practice session.