©F1i
A CONCILIATORY ROLE
When teaming up with Vettel, Rocky also had to show resilience, especially when it came to channel his driver’s impetuosity. For instance, the German would refuse to cruise to the finish despite enjoying a comfortable lead, as he was keen to set the fastest lap of the race. Coaches don’t have it easy – just ask ‘the other’ Rocky what he thinks about his latest protégé Creed Jr –, but they are seasoned, hard-nosed individuals. Rocquelin builds on these strengths to make the calls and ring the bell when the relationship between a driver and his race engineer risk altering the overall atmosphere within the team.
“When you are a race engineer, you need to be the driver’s best friend,” explains the Frenchman, who started his F1 career alongside Ricardo Zonta at BAR. “He must feel that you are his biggest supporter, which is sometimes a bit difficult because the driver does not always do what you want, this I know for a fact! [Laughs]
“The situation is different since I am head of race engineering. A driver can come up to me and say: ‘I have an issue with the front wing but I don’t really know how to tell my engineer’. My position entitles me to say to Daniel or Daniill: ‘Sorry, that’s how it is.’ In a way, I play a conciliatory role between a driver and his engineer.
“However, I am not here to interfere. If I notice something on the telemetry – let’s say a driver is slower than his team-mate in a specific corner for example – I am not going to talk to him directly. I’ll go to his engineer and let him decide whether he wants to raise the topic. Soft skills are important in this job.”
©Red Bull
