Report: How the everyday life of a Porsche safety car mechanic in Formula E looks like

Many things that happen on a Formula E weekend are invisible to the spectators, even though they are essential for the race to take place. This includes the safety car procedure: Few can imagine how much preparatory work was necessary to enable race director Scot Elkins to send the safety car driver Bruno Correia onto the track in his Porsche Taycan Turbo GT with a Weissach package and a power output of up to 815 kW after an incident.

This work is largely carried out by Adam Kot. "I work at Manthey Racing and provide technical support for the safety cars in Formula E and also in the World Endurance Championship (WEC)," explains Kot in an interview with e-Formula.news in the Manthey factory halls in Meuspath, in the immediate vicinity of the Nürburgring.

"Initially, I normally worked in the workshop when it was just WEC," he continues. "But with the expansion to Formula E (in 2022), the scope has become so big in terms of the events and the entire planning. I'm currently only looking after safety cars."

Safety car mechanic is a full-time job, especially as there are also other safety cars that Manthey Racing looks after during the course of the year. "We also provide technical support and parts support in the Sports Cup and Carrera Cup. At the beginning of the year, one car comes to us, which we convert to a safety car and then convert back again after the season." However, this is only a peripheral area of his activities.

"We had to develop this step by step"

"In Formula E, we usually arrive on Wednesday so that we can be at the racetrack on Thursday when there is no racing," he explains. "The good thing about Formula E is that the logistics are organised by the racing series itself. When I arrive at the track, everything is already prepared: The cars and also the tools are already there." Routines follow. Kot checks the cars, including brake and tyre wear, lighting, fault memory and battery charging. His tasks even include washing, cleaning and vacuuming. "I check virtually everything so that the car is ready to go."

Proper preparation is everything. "I have a checklist that I work through. We've taken a few things from WEC to Formula E. We started without any prior knowledge, so we had to develop the processes step by step. Over time, we have noticed additional things that should be checked in a safety car."

"If Bruno (Correia, safety car driver) has something to complain about after driving, I'm there to help and advise him," explains Kot. "Generally, everything works well, so we don't have that much to do once the racing starts - apart from cleaning and charging. But if something does go wrong, it's my job to remedy the situation."

Seasonal break opens up opportunities

Even though Formula E has been in its off-season for some months, Kot still has a lot to do: "The cars came to us pretty quickly after the last race. In London (at the season finale), they were loaded a day or two later and were already here in Meuspath on the Wednesday or Thursday after the race. Then we checked everything. All wearing parts were replaced and we put new tyres on. The car was virtually restored to new condition so that it can start the season again."

"The off-season is the only time we have the car here in the workshop. Otherwise, the cars are always on the road," he explains. "As soon as they leave the workshop for Formula E logistics, i.e. for pre-season testing, they don't come back until the end of the season. They are transported from race to race. The time between the last race and the pre-season test is the only opportunity to do any major work."

Is being a safety car mechanic a dream job? "Yes, it is," says Kot. "I've always been very interested in going into motorsport. But you definitely have to be keen on travelling. Travelling is both a curse and a blessing. You're on the road a lot and don't have much free time as a result. But the job itself is great. I always find it impressive when you leave the race track after a race and two or three weeks later, in a completely different place on earth - several thousand kilometres away - everything is exactly the same again."

By the way, Kot rarely sits behind the wheel of the safety car. "I've driven myself, of course, but not at racing speed. At most I've done test drives, loading at the track or here in Meuspath," he says. "I've driven as a passenger in the safety car already a few times. It was really cool last year in Valencia when we drove for quite a long time - six or seven laps. That was fun. But otherwise there's relatively little time for that."