Auto123.com met with Steve Hallam, an engineer and manager for the past 27 years in Formula 1 who has become Vice-President of Michael Waltrip Racing. Here’s a fascinating interview about the main differences between NASCAR and Formula 1.
Auto123.com: It was announced in September 2008 that you would be making the move to Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). Tell us more about your switch from Woking, U.K. to Cornelius, North Carolina.
Steve Hallam: “I spent 27 years in F1, including 18 at McLaren. Life is not a rehearsal and we’re only here once. And the opportunity presented itself for me to come here in America. The first race I came to watch was at the invitation of an old friend at Phoenix in 2007. From that point, over the six months that followed, I was introduced to Michael Waltrip. I accepted the challenge because MWR was not an established team and it had one key ingredient, the support of a manufacturer in the shape of Toyota. I am now Vice-President and Director of Competition at MWR. I am responsible for managing drivers and crew chiefs in a competitive environment.”
Auto123.com: But NASCAR is immensely different from Formula 1…
Steve Hallam: “If I wanted everything to be the same, I wouldn’t have moved. Variety is the spice of life. The NASCAR environment is fiercely competitive. It is as challenging as it can get anywhere in the world. There are better teams obviously, but the equality of the teams, in terms of performance is unbelievably close, a lot closer than in Formula 1. A good percentage of these drivers have a genuine possibility of winning in NASCAR.”
“The technical challenge of this series is extremely high. You have to compete in it to understand how complex it is. The cars are massively asymmetric, the lengths of the track, the degree of banking, the temperature of the track are just a few variables we have to play with. It is also very difficult because data acquisition is not allowed. We have to rely on the experience of the crew chiefs and the skills of the driver to explain what’s going on, and we try to translate those words into number that we can work in our simulations and models.”
Auto123.com: So the role of the crew chief is important?
Steve Hallam: “The crew chief plays a crucial role. His human and technical relationship with his driver plays a major role in performance. Not just on a race-by-race basis but on a minute-by-minute basis during the race. The crew chief must be able to fully understand what his driver is saying. That can result in making minor tweaks such as the adjustment in tire pressure to more complex changes such as spring rubbers, track bar, taping of radiators, etc. The crew chief must be able to anticipate full course yellows and the changes to be made to the car. Most crew chiefs are former racers or still race in the lower categories. They fully understand the handling of the race cars. They are like a second driver.”
Auto123.com: It was announced in September 2008 that you would be making the move to Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). Tell us more about your switch from Woking, U.K. to Cornelius, North Carolina.
Steve Hallam: “I spent 27 years in F1, including 18 at McLaren. Life is not a rehearsal and we’re only here once. And the opportunity presented itself for me to come here in America. The first race I came to watch was at the invitation of an old friend at Phoenix in 2007. From that point, over the six months that followed, I was introduced to Michael Waltrip. I accepted the challenge because MWR was not an established team and it had one key ingredient, the support of a manufacturer in the shape of Toyota. I am now Vice-President and Director of Competition at MWR. I am responsible for managing drivers and crew chiefs in a competitive environment.”
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Auto123.com: But NASCAR is immensely different from Formula 1…
Steve Hallam: “If I wanted everything to be the same, I wouldn’t have moved. Variety is the spice of life. The NASCAR environment is fiercely competitive. It is as challenging as it can get anywhere in the world. There are better teams obviously, but the equality of the teams, in terms of performance is unbelievably close, a lot closer than in Formula 1. A good percentage of these drivers have a genuine possibility of winning in NASCAR.”
“The technical challenge of this series is extremely high. You have to compete in it to understand how complex it is. The cars are massively asymmetric, the lengths of the track, the degree of banking, the temperature of the track are just a few variables we have to play with. It is also very difficult because data acquisition is not allowed. We have to rely on the experience of the crew chiefs and the skills of the driver to explain what’s going on, and we try to translate those words into number that we can work in our simulations and models.”
Auto123.com: So the role of the crew chief is important?
Steve Hallam: “The crew chief plays a crucial role. His human and technical relationship with his driver plays a major role in performance. Not just on a race-by-race basis but on a minute-by-minute basis during the race. The crew chief must be able to fully understand what his driver is saying. That can result in making minor tweaks such as the adjustment in tire pressure to more complex changes such as spring rubbers, track bar, taping of radiators, etc. The crew chief must be able to anticipate full course yellows and the changes to be made to the car. Most crew chiefs are former racers or still race in the lower categories. They fully understand the handling of the race cars. They are like a second driver.”
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| Michael Waltrip's Toyota Camry |