Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas has come to the defense of the McLaren pit crew. The team botched a pit stop for Lando Norris during the Italian Grand Prix, causing the British driver to lose his second place to teammate Oscar Piastri. This resulted in a controversial driver swap, with Piastri being forced to give back the position. Some Norris supporters have criticized the McLaren pit crew, but according to Nicholas, they are not to blame.
Following the race weekend in Monza, many Lando Norris supporters directed their ire at the McLaren pit crew. A mistake in attaching the left front wheel cost the British driver a significant amount of time. Several social media users expressed their dissatisfaction with the pit stop, with one ill-informed user even calling for the mechanic in question to be relieved of his duties. “That mechanic at the left front wheel really needs to be fired,” wrote an anonymous user. “These guys earn 350,000 pounds a year while they only have to work three seconds every two weeks.”
Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas also saw the message and immediately jumped to the defense of the McLaren crew. “This is why so few people from the paddock are on social media,” Nicholas responded irritably. “Nonsense like this is just embarrassing. The average annual salary for a Formula 1 mechanic is about 60,000 pounds and the average work week is about 70 hours,” he corrected. “In addition, most fly economy class and no one gets extra pay for their role in the pit crew.”
