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KARL SCHUCHNIG THE FIRST TIME I WORKED AT A GRAND PRIX (1970)

by www.redbullracing.com, Nov 12, 2011

A lot has changed in Formula One over the years. Karl Schuchnig, who conducts tours for Red Bull Racing’s guests, has been working in the sport for 41 years. Here he tells us about what’s different between now and then:

“My first race was the 1970 Austrian Grand Prix. I was chief polisher for McLaren. I was 16 and still at school and got to know the team by accident. My uncle owned a VW garage and at that time teams often went from one track to the next. McLaren had come direct to Austria from Hockenheim and rented part of my uncle’s garage ahead of the race. With three McLaren’s in there, of course I went everyday. I was local so they asked me questions like ‘Where can we get this and that’? When they moved to the circuit 3km away, they asked if I would go along and help. There were no real garages then, cars were parked together under a canopy next to the track and prepared on stands. There were two mechanics per car and that was it. When practice started we had to push the cars, along with all the tools, tyres, fuel and everything we needed, around the pit wall to get to the front of the pits, so it was a lot of work. A team consisted of three cars, with two mechanics per car, although the spare only had one. The truck driver was responsible for the spares, there was a chief mechanic, a designer, a team principal and that was it. There was no catering, except sausage rolls! That was the standard meal I remember. Ha ha lots of sausage rolls. There was no marketing and there were hardly any guests as I recall. Looking at circuits now, so much has changed, but the main thing is safety. I remember in Austria there were hardly any guard rails; there were gravel beds and arnco in the fast corners, but no tyre walls, so if someone went off they went into the rail. I also remember photographers standing right next to the track, so if a car had gone off it wouldn’t have been great. Cars had aluminium chassis then, so if they crashed, they would bend and that was it. If you see the crashes now, like Mark in Valencia, the drivers have a big impact but walk away. It’s incredible how far the sport has come compared to those early days. It’s a fascinating, great sport and I love it now as much as I did on that first race.”

Credit: Red Bull Racing Formula one Team (www.redbullracing.com)