I’ve been watching F1 for decades, and I can’t remember there ever being a chief mechanic who is female. In addition, there was a lot of press a year ago about the first female mechanic in F1. Not chief mechanic, just mechanic.
Also, for those who don’t know, the mechanics in F1 are also the pit crew. The person who decides when it’s safe for the car to leave the box after the tires are changed is typically the chief mechanic. They used to be known as “the lollipop man” because they carried a sign at the end of a long pole that they used to tell the driver when to leave the pit box. These days they use a digital stoplight sort of device, so they’re not literally standing out in front of the car anymore, but they’re still near the front holding a signalling box. The lollipop man / chief mechanic is a very visible position in F1, and a female chief mechanic would have definitely drawn a lot of attention.
This guy says that he knows nothing about cars. Could he have been referring to someone who was an important mechanic but not the chief mechanic? Sure. Could he have meant Formula 2 or some other racing formula instead of Formula 1? Sure. Could this just be a bullshit story made up for internet points? Yes. I really don’t think there has been a female chief mechanic of an F1 team yet. But, if I’m wrong, I’m certainly interested in who it is/was.
I’m going to press (X) for Doubt.
I’ve been watching F1 for decades, and I can’t remember there ever being a chief mechanic who is female. In addition, there was a lot of press a year ago about the first female mechanic in F1. Not chief mechanic, just mechanic.
Also, for those who don’t know, the mechanics in F1 are also the pit crew. The person who decides when it’s safe for the car to leave the box after the tires are changed is typically the chief mechanic. They used to be known as “the lollipop man” because they carried a sign at the end of a long pole that they used to tell the driver when to leave the pit box. These days they use a digital stoplight sort of device, so they’re not literally standing out in front of the car anymore, but they’re still near the front holding a signalling box. The lollipop man / chief mechanic is a very visible position in F1, and a female chief mechanic would have definitely drawn a lot of attention.
This guy says that he knows nothing about cars. Could he have been referring to someone who was an important mechanic but not the chief mechanic? Sure. Could he have meant Formula 2 or some other racing formula instead of Formula 1? Sure. Could this just be a bullshit story made up for internet points? Yes. I really don’t think there has been a female chief mechanic of an F1 team yet. But, if I’m wrong, I’m certainly interested in who it is/was.
I’ve seen this loads of times and it’s a really funny meme. Everyone in the know says it’s not true sadly, but I’m glad OP posted it