The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane

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The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane

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Price: £5.495
£5.495 FREE Shipping

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An awkward and uncomfortable style on stage, twinned with his blunt, monosyllabic quotes in front of a microphone should have been a PR nightmare, but it ironically turned into the thing most people loved about him.” Following his retirement from McLaren, Elvis’ first broadcast role was as pitlane reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live, where he was able to share his vast technical experience of the cars and equipment with listeners. Since then, Elvis has become an integral part of Sky’s F1 coverage. He now a co-host on the channel’s studio based chat show, The F1 Report, as well as attending a number of Grand Prix events. If ever anyone left the race team after a significant length of service, either to retire or move on, it was our longstanding tradition to physically abuse that person after their last race. This would generally happen in a horrifically degrading manner, and often in front of the entire pitlane. Over the years I’ve seen people tied to the pit wall fence and covered with leftover food slops (which had been saved up during the week in preparation). People were doused in liquids that should never have been publicly seen outside of the human body. And I’ve watched, horrified, as one mechanic was set on fire before being hosed down with the enormous pitstop foam fire extinguisher.”

The Mechanic - Penguin Books UK The Mechanic - Penguin Books UK

With Kimi, though, there’s never been an ego, let alone an inflated one, and the celebrity lifestyle just wasn’t his way. There was initial confusion on the pit wall. The mechanics and engineers were naturally concerned and wanted to know what it was, so I repeated my not-so-technical description. The principle is sound, as are the author’s credentials… [A] genuine attempt to reflect the day-to-day realities of a relentless life on the road. And it is relayed by someone who doesn’t feel duty-bound to toe the corporate line Motorsport A really interesting read on what it was like to be in the inside of Formula One during when Red Bull had came into the sport and ignited the parties and drunken behaviour. But also an interesting insight into the Mclaren team.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. The sweetest gift from mum and mitchy <3 5-stars because I had such a fun time reading this. The glitz glamour and chaos of 00s F1 is front centre in this autobiography, but it never felt like a brag, more like charming recollections from a different time. it also made me wonder who will write the defining autobiography of the 10s or the current era. Mark then had to hope that the story either wasn’t true, or, if it was, convince Ron that it was a journalistic mistake and that Kimi was fine and training hard, not in fact recovering from some mythical event such as a three-day bender involving public nakedness and damage to a well-known nightclub, as was once fairly accurately reported.”

The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane - Goodreads

Marc Priestly was a mechanic at McLaren from 2000 to 2009, before he left the team to pursue a career in media, working for the BBC and Sky Sports among others and writing articles for magazines like Autosport and F1 Racing. He started out getting his hands dirty as a mechanic in Formula Ford and British Formula 3 before rising through the ranks to the pinnacle of motorsport, which is where we first met when we both worked for McLaren’s Formula One team. F1 attracts many, but few sustain in that rare air of competition where the correct answer to any question is ‘Yes I can’. The relentless pursuit of marginal gains with many late nights and early mornings would break a mere mortal, but Elvis represents the pinnacle of a man’s desire to constantly push to be the greatest version of himself. Then, casually, just a few seconds before I had to leave the grid ahead of the race start, he asked me how many laps the race lasted for. Join McLaren's former Number One mechanic, Marc 'Elvis' Priestley as he tours the world, revealing some of Formula One's most outrageous secrets and the fiercest rivalries, all fuelled by the determination to win. Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley worked for McLaren Racing as a Formula One mechanic and member of the pitstop crew from 2000-2009. He worked with a distinguished list of drivers including Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen, Jean Alesi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.As ever, I had to put my trust in the guys who knew that car inside out, and as the five red lights began to light up one by one on the gantry to start the race, I confirmed I was happy to go for it and put any worry out of my mind. I had absolute faith in my team. As the mechanics and engineers rapidly worked out, using the spare car in the garage, what might have happened and what consequences it could have, someone suggested I throw it out of the car and over the pit wall next to my grid slot. In the high octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium. These are the guys who make every World Champion, and any mistakes can have critical consequences. Who knows, maybe one of these days I’ll watch another F1 race? Or maybe just a bunch of Kimi videos 😅 It’s no surprise to me that after playing his part in securing Lewis Hamilton’s first World Title, Elvis has moved on to his next challenge, still surrounded by engineering excellence and cars but now in his role as a TV presenter, where his easy, relaxed style makes it feel like he’s putting his arm around the viewers’ shoulders and taking them on a walk behind the scenes of one of the biggest sports in the world. I look forward to watching him continue to push the boundaries in this field whilst inevitably looking for his next great life challenge.

The Mechanic; The Secret World Of The F1 Pitlane - LinkedIn The Mechanic; The Secret World Of The F1 Pitlane - LinkedIn

Revealing the most outrageous secrets and fiercest rivalries, The Mechanic follows Priestley as he travels the world working in the high-octane atmosphere of the F1 pit lane. While the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers, the mechanics are the guys who make every World Champion, and any mistakes can have critical consequences. Ron Dennis' rather special personality (I always found him fascinating) was the much more interesting aspect of this book in the early chapters. Some parts of this reminded me of reading about Steve Jobs, another interesting character. And then Kimi arrived at the team and the book became immense fun.

Join McLaren's former number-one mechanic, Marc 'Elvis' Priestley as he tours the world, revealing some of Formula One's most outrageous secrets and the fiercest rivalries, all fuelled by the determination to win. The principle is sound, as are the author’s credentials... [A] genuine attempt to reflect the day-to-day realities of a relentless life on the road. And it is relayed by someone who doesn’t feel duty-bound to toe the corporate line" ( Motorsport) My lasting memory as I left for the airport to fly home was of Kimi cowering in a corner of the room, using his laptop as a pathetic shield, while eggs and slices of toast rained down upon his head.”



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