Powell Post - Volume 9

Here is Alice Powell, F3 Cup and GP3 driver, with the latest volume of Powell Post, going through what she has been up to this November.

Hello Powell Post readers! I hope you are all well. 

My 2013 season is now over… Unfortunately, I was runner up in the F3 Cup, after a very tough season with a number of car problems. We started very well, but lost pace and had engine issues which lost us the championship. 

Well done to Alex Craven, who took the title. I have to say a big thank you to the Mark Bailey Racing team, my sponsors; who are Silverstone-Hotels.com, Immun’Age, My Protein and some fabulous support for the Women Sports Trust. 

(c) GP3 Media

As many of you may have seen, I was racing in the GP3 series in Abu Dhabi over the F1 weekend. This year’s GP3 car – the GP3/13 - is completely different to the car I drove last year. It is much faster but the Pirelli tyres are very tricky, due to the faster and bigger car! It was a lot to learn and due to the lateness of the deal (the week leading up to the race), I had no prep time. 

We struggled a lot with pace early on but by the end of the weekend, I was within 1.5 seconds of the leaders and one tenth off Red Bull Junior Driver Carlos Sainz Jr. Because my qualifying was so poor, I struggled to make places in the race, because believe it or not, the track is very hard to overtake on!! In Race two, once I finally got past the drivers who were holding me up, I was the second fastest car on track in the closing stages of the race, long after the tyres had gone past their best. It was great to be back in GP3 again and around the F1 paddock. 

 So, the F1 season has also finished! It's a tough year for all the teams, with so many race weekends, the staff work flat out. It is not just Sebastian Vettel who has set new records, but his team, Red Bull, set a new record at Austin, this time involving Mark Webber. The Red Bull pit crew managed to achieve a sub 2 second pit stop, breaking their unofficial record. Red Bull posted a statement on their website saying their car data recorded Mark’s pit stop as 1.923 seconds! That is a pretty fast time when you think about it. 

(c) GP3 Media

The mechanics must get the car off the ground (you have a front jack man and a rear jack man), change 4 tyres and then get the car back on the ground. The driver then must make sure that they make the perfect getaway, not creating too much wheel spin, or worst case, stalling!! 

Before all of this happens, the mechanics would spend plenty of time back at the factory and across the race weekend, practising the pit stops over and over again, as well as practising front wing changes. The driver must push as hard as possible on the "in" lap to the pits, slowing down in time for the pit lane speed gun and drive to their pit box. When the driver pulls in, they must stop on the "markers" which is where the mechanics hand meets the front tyre. Not meeting the markers can mean the tyre changers need to move position to change the tyres, resulting in time loss. 

 There are three mechanics per wheel, one operating the wheel gun, one taking off the tyre with the other putting the new tyre on! The mechanics do need to be reasonably fit, as it is a speedy process and the tyres and guns are not light (an average tyre weighing around 15-20kg). Combining all of the above and getting it accurate and fast, like Red Bull achieved in Austin, just proves it can be done less than 2 seconds!! 

So what are my plans for 2014, I hear you ask? Good question!!! It is all down to budget, so who knows what I will be racing next year. I know what I would like to do, but it is just finding ££££’s…! 

Take care, 

Alice x 

For even more insight into life as a racing driver, check out Volume 5 for a look into fitness training, Volume 6 for information on a race weekend in the shoes of Alice Powell and Volume 7 for a look at the costs of racing in motorsport..
 
Follow Alice on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicepowell 
Like Alice's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/alicepowellracing 
Check out her website: http://www.alice-powell.com/ 
For Sponsorship Queries: http://www.alice-powell.com/sponsorship 
Powell Post - Volume 8: http://jackleslief1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/powell-post-volume-8.html