F1 engineers better than the drivers

[robinessex]

F1 engineers better than the drivers

Rob Watts: "If your budget was slashed, would you rather invest in a world-class engineering team or a world-class driver?"

Toto Wolff "I would invest in a world-class engineering team, because the best drivers make a difference of a few tenths but world-class engineers can make more."

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38999089

[Ransoman]

Yes and no. The engineers make the winning car but the drivers are the public face of the team, It is the drivers that bring in the money from sponsorship, tv appeal etc.

[Bullett]

It's all about context isn't it.

The difference between the best and worst F1 driver might be a few 10ths. But between the worst F1 driver and me would be a lot more.

[rampageturke]

robinessex said:

F1 engineers better than the drivers

Rob Watts: "If your budget was slashed, would you rather invest in a world-class engineering team or a world-class driver?"

Toto Wolff "I would invest in a world-class engineering team, because the best drivers make a difference of a few tenths but world-class engineers can make more."

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38999089

Drivers promote, engineers don't. All eyes are on the driver during a race/qualifying, not the engineers that made the car.

[hondansx]

robinessex said:

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

Surely you already know the answer to this.

Could engineers do perform without a state-of-the-art wind tunnel, or super computer? If not, why doesn't the guy who pours the concrete for the tunnel not get paid £14m a year?

[robinessex]

Give the driver a st car and ???? Ask Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso !

[robinessex]

hondansx said:

robinessex said:

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

Surely you already know the answer to this.

Could engineers do perform without a state-of-the-art wind tunnel, or super computer? If not, why doesn't the guy who pours the concrete for the tunnel not get paid £14m a year?

Oh, great reply! A mechanic couldn't do up a nut without a spanner. It's the brain power you're paying for.

[p1stonhead]

Isnt this fairly obvious? Adrien Newey was presumably paid millions and millions because he designed championship winning cars.

Without a championship design car, drivers dont have a chance. Look at McLaren right now - Alonso (arguably one of the best) hasnt got a look in.

He would have every chance of being world champion right now if he was at Mercedes last year.

[Toltec]

Usual pyramid structure, why do the salesmen get paid more than the engineers?

How much do F1 team bosses get paid?

[Smokehead]

Lead singer always gets more than the band.

[forzaminardi]

The law of supply and demand equally applies. There are plenty of engineers who will be able to do very well at being a F1 engineer, but very few drivers who will be able to do very well at being a F1 driver. Similarly, no single engineer will make a huge difference to the competitiveness of the team (because the team's competitiveness is predicated on many engineers), whereas one driver might just do that (because there are only two drivers per team). On the otherhand, the engineers and boffins who are so talented that their very arrival at a team would almost guarantee a competitive boost (the likes of Newey, Brawn and so on) DO command multi-million salaries.

Finally, while the top F1 drivers do earn eye-watering sums, your average journeyman F1 driver (albeit earning by everyday standards 'a lot'), doesn't take home crazy sums in context of the risk they are exposed to, the effort demanded by their profession, and the extremely slim chance of success - no matter how good they may be.

[NJH]

Also don't forget career longevity. Newey was already a top of the tree F1 engineer when he was in the pit garage with Senna, assuming he stays interested and healthy he will be around for a long time yet.

Nobody has mentioned yet that the person who has earned the most from the sport was secondhand car dealer.

[blade7]

Smokehead said:

Lead singer always gets more than the band.

Not if someone else in the band writes the songs.

[anonymous-user]

blade7 said:

Smokehead said:

Lead singer always gets more than the band.

Not if someone else in the band writes the songs.

The longest lasting and most successful bands split the profits equally.

U2, Rolling Stones and Coldplay being good examples.

[turbobloke]

robinessex said:

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

ISWYM but drivers put themselves at greater risk each time they race. There's a small but finite chance they'll lose their life.

Also I suspect that top engineers in F1 including aero get a decent whack, though not at the level of drivers due to risk-reward.

[Evilex]

If you don't take Toto's response TOO literally, all he's saying is that with limited funds, an investment in the engineering team is more cost effective in terms of improving the car's performance.

If the engineering team finds a way to improve the car such that it's (potentially) 0.5 seconds quicker a lap, that benefits BOTH cars (and perhaps the WCC outcome) in a way that neither single driver could achieve.

Toto's a team principal, and knows it's a team effort. Yes, the drivers do make a significant and very visible contribution, but he's paid to look at the bigger picture, and his response highlights this.

[NJH]

A more interesting question and its one the team principles must debate is which is better, hiring another 50 engineers back at the base and doing data analysis or finding a Newey?

[Andy M]

robinessex said:

Toto Wolff "I would invest in a world-class engineering team, because the best drivers make a difference of a few tenths but world-class engineers can make more."

So shouldn't these engineers be getting racing car driver salaries then?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38999089

If you were to go down this route the tyres, probably the single component that has the greatest impact on the speed of the car, would be the most expensive part of the car.

[Flooble]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

One fewer than the number of drivers who have died since 1994, which is the same year four engineers were injured by a flying wheel in the pitlane and were lucky not be killed.

However, at least three marshalls have been killed since 2000, so logically they should be the highest paid individuals if you want to base it on risk of death.

[Derek Smith]

NJH said:

Nobody has mentioned yet that the person who has earned the most from the sport was secondhand car dealer.

I'm not sure that is correct. I spoke with the collator a Stoke Newington who was quite keen on F1. We chatted about Ecclestone and I asked him if he'd known him when he was a second hand car dealer. He said that it was a carefully constructed myth aimed to give him credibility he never had. He was, the chap said, a second hand motorcycle dealer.

He told some stories about him but they all started with 'I was told that'.

But pedantry matters - old motor bikes.