Q&A: Andy Shovlin - JB's race engineer.

Andy Shovlin is Jenson Button's race engineer, here he talks about working with the Englishman, those two podiums in Malaysia and Bahrain, and loads, loads more...

Q:
Andy, how did you get into F1 in the first place?

Andy Shovlin:
I did an engineering degree at university, then a PhD working on military trucks with active suspension. Basically, I was doing was mathematical modelling, which describes a car or truck as a series of mathematical equations and you can predict how it will handle and what the ride will be like.

Then I was offered a job at BAR doing the same thing, only on racing cars - in terms of vehicles they're at opposite ends of the spectrum because one is 30 tonnes and the other is 600 kilos, but in terms of techniques the same applies to both of them.

I did loads of simulation work in research and development from 1998 and then started working with Olivier [Panis] under David Lloyd. Then last year I worked with Craig [Wilson] on Jenson's car, so that's five years with BAR in all.

Q:
Are you enjoying your new role as Jenson's race engineer?

AS:
Yeah, very much so. It's nice to be in a position where you can make a difference and it's great working with Jenson - he's a really easy guy to get on with and the whole car team are brilliant to work with. So it's been really good. I was new to the job this year, so it has been very hard work to get fully up to speed with the requirements of the job, but it's nice to have got results in all the races and the last two podiums have been unbelievable. It's great to know our hard work is paying off.

Q:
Have the levels of expectation and pressure on you grown?

AS:
Yes, but it's exactly what I wanted and it's a great opportunity to be given for your first engineering job with a driver as good as Jenson and with a car that is very competitive. It's obviously easier to start with a second driver at the back of the grid because it's almost a bit more inconspicuous, but you can't miss the opportunity when it arises.

I'm happy with the pressure. Obviously in any race engineering job you have to get it right and there's plenty of room to trip up and if you make a mistake they're often quite visible ones. But it's not completely new to me. Last year I was working with Craig as the second engineer, although in many cases I was doing the typical role of the a race engineer, but without the overall responsibility.

Q:
Is it difficult knowing that the guy [Craig Wilson] who did your job last year is now the chief engineer and will be looking over your shoulder?

AS:
Not really. Craig did the job very well and it's always good to have the opportunity to learn from people who have a lot of experience. You know what standard needs to be achieved. It was a bit intimidating to start with, because you want to maintain the standard he's set and of course I am aware that he's always there and controlling things. But it is 100 per cent a positive thing to have someone like Craig, who knows me well, in that position.

Q:
Do you need to put your own mark on the role, or is it solely about the effort the team make as a whole?

AS:
Well, obviously I want to do well and have people think that my contribution is a valuable one. But the contribution I make individually is part of a whole that is the team. That's the direction the engineering department is moving in. We're operating in a very organised way now, each run is meticulously planned and everything we do between runs is thought out and discussed. There's a lot of input from everyone on what we do and how we do it and it seems to be working.

Q:
The relationship between the engineer and the driver seems to be a very close one. How do you develop that relationship?

AS:
Ultimately there needs to be a mutual respect. You can't engineer a driver whose abilities you don't respect and likewise, the driver needs to have trust and respect for their engineers. You're responsible for their safety and for the performance of the car, and they need to know you'll make the right decisions when they're required.

Q:
What most impresses you about Jenson?

AS:
Well obviously he's pretty quick! But the other thing that stands out is his ability to shut out things that don't matter to him. He tells us what he wants, then leaves us to get on with it. He trusts the mechanics to do their thing and the engineers to doing theirs. He knows he can't do anything about these peripherals, so he just gets himself ready for driving the car. He's the most relaxed driver I've ever known and his calm makes us calm, which in turn helps us all work better.

You do forget how young he is too, because he's so together and mature. Unless you're on the radio talking to a driver, it's difficult to know what they're really like in the car. People think they know because they see a driver outside of the car, but they can be completely different. Jenson isn't. He is unflappable, focussed and consistent.

Q:
Finally, it must be a pretty special seeing him do so well.

AS:
It's been special for me because I know it's so special for Jenson and it's been a long time coming for him. The last few laps of both races were pretty nerve wracking just because you know he's had it taken away from him in the final stages before. It's nice now knowing the podiums and the success are becoming more of a common feature, we just need to keep it up and get a few more of them.