Racing Under a Watchful Eye That’s Thousands of Miles Away
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:37 pm
Article
STUDYING the stream of numbers flashing across his computer screen, Mark Williams checked the vital signs of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren MP4-25 racecar as it attacked a corner at the Australian Grand Prix in March. Hamilton pushed hard at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, working his way up to a sixth-place finish after starting 11th.
But the shriek of the Mercedes V-8 engine in Hamilton’s racecar never distracted Mr. Williams from his task as head of race engineering for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One team. On the lookout for abnormal readings — high brake wear, an engine malfunction, excessive fuel consumption — Mr. Williams worked at a desk in the operations room of the team’s home base in Woking, an upscale commuter town about an hour’s drive southwest of London — and 9,000 miles from where the race was taking place in Australia.
The best car is the one that develops the most between races, not between seasons. If you ain't watchin' you're missing out.