Savageduck
On 2013-12-07 22:27:16 +0000, Eric Stevens <eric.stevens@sum.co.nz>said:

Eric Stevens
On Fri, 06 Dec 2013 23:20:25 -0500, nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

nospam
In article <p275a99v4udgmd18f98gq3pik2g95bgrmj@4ax.com>, Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com>wrote:

understanding how the car handles is not the same as being a mechanic.

Eric Stevens
That's your definition. Who is it then that adjusts wheel alignment settings, suspension settings, wings, tire pressure adjustment etc ..

nospam
mechanics.

Tony Cooper
Actually, the pit crew is a team of specialists. Generally, when we use the word "mechanic", we are referring to a person who works on or repairs the drive train of a vehicle...engine and transmission. The pit crew people specialize in adjustments to the vehicle, fueling, and tire changing. While they probably have some mechanical skills, the real "mechanics" are back in the garage. I doubt if any race driver refers to his pit crew as his "mechanics".

nospam
unimportant distinction.

the point is that it's not the driver who does it.

Eric Stevens
It's usually the driver who decides it.

Savageduck
Perhaps in days past, and perhaps in races other than F1, F2, IndyCar, GT1, & GT3.

Today in F1 the car is a mass of telemetry sending data from hundreds of sensors to the pits where a team of engineers sitting in front of a wall of monitors evaluate what needs adjustment and what need to be adjusted in the car by the driver and passes on to the pit crew and those "mechanics" what they need to prepare to fix or adjust on a pit stop. It is those engineers who tell the driver what they need him to adjust in the car on that complex steering wheel. Those sensors tell them stuff such as the pressure in the push-rod suspension on each of the corners, with that they can make balance adjustments to wings, suspension etc. They get feedback on brake temperatures, exhaust temperatures, fuel flow, KERS charge, KERS discharge, and so much more.