AT&T Williams F1

Meet Paul Singlehurst, our Race Team Coordinator. With three flyaway races in the space of just four weeks, it’s one of Paul’s responsibilities to see that all of the team’s kit required for the Grands Prix reaches its various destinations on time. An unenviable task?

PERSONAL
Age: 42
Star sign: Libra
Start date at AT&T Williams: Originally 1998, but I left in '99 and came back in 2001.

Why did you leave in '99? I was chief truckie at the time and didn’t want to drive any more. It’s very hard to move on when you’re at a place because if you’re doing the job well, they don’t want you to stop doing it! I had to nip away and come back.

Why Williams F1? Its no nonsense approach to the sport. Racing comes first and, if you need a decision at the highest level, you can go and see Frank or Patrick. That access is unusual in Formula One.
Previous jobs in F1: Stewart Grand Prix and Jaguar Racing.

Your favourite AT&T Williams driver? I liked [Juan Pablo] Montoya. He got on with it. He was a real character and he was quick. On the right day, when he was in the right frame of mind, he took some beating.

Hobbies: Shooting, scuba diving and my daughter’s ponies. I try to avoid the mucking out though!

PROFESSIONAL
Describe the job that you do for AT&T Williams: I spend most of my time helping the team manager, Tim Newton. Tim's workload is such that I deal with the things he hasn't got time for. We discuss hotels, transport, people and general logistics. I also have a lot to do with the presentation of the team: how we lay out the garage and how the equipment looks.

How has the team evolved while you’ve been here? Its presentation has come on leaps and bounds, and everything now looks very clean and crisp. We were one of the last teams to introduce overhead gantries in the pit garage because we were winning races and thought we didn't need them. I look back now and wonder how we ever managed without them because they make the job a whole lot easier. You have to move with the times.

What's the most challenging aspect of your job? Getting 'palletised' for the flyaway races has been one of the biggest headaches. Since 2001 we've had to build everything into the shape of the pallet that goes onto the plane, and it’s a continual stress. We send 25-26 tonnes of equipment by plane, so it's a lot of work. Sea freight has also created more work. We send nine tonnes of sea freight to each flyaway race and, to put that in perspective, the sea freight for Australia left on 4 January.

Will Singapore's night race pose specific problems? In theory, no. Everyone's thinking about how we’re going to work the hour shifts and have sufficient lighting, but I'm sure it's going to be something silly that catches us out. What about the flies? They come out at night...