In the photo: The careful choreography of the F1 weekend with Haas

During the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Haas gave ESPN behind-the-scenes access to see what life is really like at a Formula 1 team.

Equipped with a camera and a notebook, the idea was to record important work that was rarely recorded by race weekend broadcasts and was not considered glamorous enough to make the final cut of “Drive to Survive.” What we found was an incredible team effort, led by two veteran drivers, but made possible by a dedicated workforce of specialists, including super-smart engineers, fast mechanics and hard-working hospitality staff.

Pit-stop practice is constant throughout any team’s race weekend. From Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning before the race, the pit crew (made up of a mix of mechanics from both cars) perfected the carefully choreographed tire changes into a fine art.

Each member of the 20-person crew has a job, including back-up rear- and front-jack operators (should the initial jacks be used to lift the failed car) and three mechanics per tire – on, dead and gunner. The goal is to get all four tires changed and make the front wing adjustment as requested by the driver as quickly as possible, and perhaps more importantly, as consistently as possible.

During the Thursday race weekend, pit stop practice was completed without the car running, meaning it had to be driven into place by a mechanic not in the pit crew, with another team member in the cockpit to apply the brakes and stop the car at its mark.

Every training stop during the weekend is timed, recorded and reviewed to understand where precious seconds may be leaking. On Friday morning, Haas performance coach and team physiotherapist Faith Atack-Martin led a pit stop review in the garage, where training stops were selected and screens displayed data and information on where performance could be improved.

Friday’s practice marked the first time crews attempted to stop a running car as drivers returned to their pits between runs on the track. All practice stops are designed to mimic race conditions, with the crew in the garage waiting for the call for the car to arrive, and then taking the tires out of the garage and into the pit lane to complete the stop.

The practice session lasted during rush hour at the Haas garage. Extreme wind and wet weather at Zandvoort meant that running in the first practice session was limited, which increased the pressure on the team to get data from the second session.

The practice session was a rare opportunity to take photos of the drivers waiting between races in the cockpit. Tools remain on hand if changes need to be made to the car during the session, but with time on track at a premium, the focus is on getting the car running and collecting data.

Rain from the North Sea lashed the seaside town of Zandvoort on Saturday morning before final practice. The Haas driver was scheduled to appear in the circuit’s fan zone before 10 a.m., and both drivers boarded a shuttle bus from the paddock to take them to the main stage in a few minutes.

Despite the gloomy weather, Danish driver Kevin Magnussen arrived on the shuttle bus in jeans and a T-shirt, while his team-mate Nico Hülkenberg wore a Haas brand rain jacket. Commenting on his teammate’s choice of outfit, Hülkenberg said, “it’s because he’s a viking.”

After some small talk about the route to the circuit and the various Porsche 911 models, Magnussen doubted many fans would come to the stage to stand and wait out the rain. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Like rockstars back for an encore, the two drivers walked out to resounding cheers from the soaked crowd. He answered a series of fan questions, ranging from his expectations of the weekend to what it’s like to be a “racing dad.”

When the Q&A ended, Haas senior communications manager Jessica Borrell was on hand to give the drivers their branded hats to toss into the crowd. A few lucky fans got their hands on some free merchandise before the driver and two very wet photographers got back into the minibus and headed back to the paddock.

After Saturday’s final practice session, both drivers went straight to a debrief with the engineers. The trackside engineering office was temporarily constructed from two open trailers and connected to create a spacious first floor workspace. In one corner of the temporary structure was a debrief table, where the two drivers sat face to face with the race, performance and tire engineers along with team principal Ayao Komatsu.

After the final practice session, Hülkenberg was the first to arrive, clearly still frustrated about his crash during the session. The German immediately went to his laptop and began analyzing the data from the incident before his engineer, Gary Gannon, arrived to discuss the incident in more detail.

The sound remains quiet, with the driver and each member of the engineering team speaking through headsets. It was usually a private moment between the driver and the engineer away from prying eyes, and after a few photos, it felt like the right time to go.

Back at the team’s hospitality unit, coffee is being prepared for the guests. Attention to detail is everything in F1, including the preparation of cappuccino.

When asked if they could take photos of the process, the catering staff collectively nominated Kelsey Subedi as the head barista. Perfectly steamed milk coated in cocoa powder in the shape of the Haas logo.

The hospitality staff regularly work the longest hours in the Formula 1 team. Unlike the people who work on the cars, whose time on the circuit is determined by the FIA ​​curfew rules to end their work at night, the hospitality staff is almost always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Through a sliding door on either side of Hospitality, chefs Grant Brunsden and Fabrizio Valenti work in the team’s cramped galley kitchen. There wasn’t enough space to put pancakes, but the two cooks worked together as Valenti poached eggs for the mechanics’ breakfast and Brunsden prepared beef tartare for lunch.

Together with the rest of the catering staff, the two chefs ensure that the team is fueled for the race weekend, while also producing menus to meet the standards of VIPs and representatives of team sponsors.

When the driver arrived at the garage before Sunday’s race, everything was in place. Hülkenberg first went to the engineering station, where he chatted with Gannon, before walking to the corner of the garage to prepare for the 72-lap race.

German helmets, gloves and headphones are all lined up on the rack to prepare. In the background of one of the burning cars, his coach, Martin Poole, shared a joke as Hülkenberg got ready, putting specially-made headphones in his ears, putting on his shirt, taking out his fire-resistant balaclava and finally putting it on. in the helmet.

He approaches the car from the right, steps through the halo and lowers himself into the cockpit, where the belt is fastened and tightened by the mechanic. With everything set, the pit lane opened and Hülkenberg headed to the track for a few reconnaissance laps before hitting the grid.

Problems with the battery in Magnussen’s car required a change ahead of the race, resulting in a pit-lane start for the Dane. However, when the car was fired up ahead of the race, a problem was detected and the engine quickly shut down again.

Four mechanics immediately worked on the car, removing the bodywork on the right side and reaching inside the Ferrari’s power unit. Emergency operations are a team effort, seemingly requiring four pairs of hands to find the problem and fix it. The job took a little more than five minutes before the sculpted sidepod returned to the right place and bolted up.

The car was fired up and inspected to make sure everything was running as it should. A few minutes later, Magnussen arrived in the garage, apparently none the wiser about the team’s efforts.

After a lap of reconnaissance, Hülkenberg arrived at the box to find a mechanic waiting for him. The car was lifted and rolled into the grid area, where the rest of the team was waiting with all the tools they needed for the last minute drama.

Hülkenberg got out of the car and returned to Gannon for a trackside debrief based on the car’s behavior in the few laps it took to get to the grid. Hülkenberg then left the grid for a final “comfort break” — a quick trip to the bathroom — before the race.

Team owner Gene Haas looks on as the car gets a final pampering before the race starts. He does not attend every grand prix, but in Zandvoort, the 71-year-old is keen to pore through every detail of the new front wing of the car and take photos of the competing cars leaving the pit. It’s clear he’s still a big fan of the sport.

Before the Dutch national anthem, the mechanics and engineers line up proudly behind the rear wing of the car, creating the perfect “family photo”. Hülkenberg returned after standing in front of the box for the national anthem, and in five minutes, the track was cleared from all but the important staff to see the car away in the formation lap.

The garage is a quiet place during the race. Mechanics sit in rows on folding chairs, watching the screens mounted on the wall while the engineers circle the central hub of the data screen in the center.

Rounds of coffee and homemade cakes are passed between the mechanics as they follow the race, but at any point, the peace can be shattered by the need for an unscheduled pit stop. As it happened, only one car changed tires at Zandvoort, and both finished in target time.

When the call comes in, the mechanic jumps out of his seat and into position to receive the car and send it on its way within seconds. High fives and slapped backs follow two jobs well done.

Despite the crew’s efforts, it became clear with ten laps to go that the driver is not likely to score points. Knowing that an additional pit-stop would be game over, the mechanics began packing up their seats and turned their attention to the de-rigging and packdown needed to prepare all the team’s equipment for transport to the next event.

All the intensity of the race weekend leaked out when the checkered flag dropped. In the next.