The answer to this is well known – 10. One to hold the bulb and the other nine to turn the ladder.
What brought that to my mind was a very thick book I have on my desk called Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix Scrutineer Technical Documents. Yes, technical documents and there are about 100 pages of them. And these 100 pages are to be checked by the 30 scrutineers. Yes, 30 of them. And I almost forgot, another six to push the cars onto the weighing platform and another two fire marshals.
Much of the work is really not necessary. Take tyres for example. There is a bar code on the outside of the tyre which has to be scanned by the scrutineer which tells the FIA number and the manufacturer’s serial number. Why, for Pete’s sake? Just let them buy their tyres and get on with it. Or is that too simple, too obvious even!
The scrutineers have to decide if there is a change in climatic conditions which might mean a change to the air intake and the FIA technical delegate has to say OK. The same chappie oversees any padding added to the driver’s seat and has to OK it before it can be used. Jobs for the boys?
No, the overall feeling reading the manual is that F1 is just over-regulated, and with the numbers of people “needed” as scrutineers, there is one expense that could be reduced.
