29. 8. 2024
The Italian GP will be a special weekend for the team as it will see the official opening of our brand-new paddock hospitality unit, or what is generically still called a “motorhome” by most F1 folk – despite the days of a single vehicle with an awning being long gone!
Our previous building had done sterling service, and it had been a familiar sight at the circuits for many years, in a variety of logos.
However, it was time for an upgrade. The spectacular replacement unit caused quite a stir when it first appeared at Spa, with many observers agreeing that it set a new standard.
The team motorhome is the paddock base at all the European races. While its most obvious function is to provide catering for guests and team members, it also contains offices for management and marketing and communications staff, as well as rooms that our two drivers call home for the weekend.
It also makes a public statement about the team and the Alpine brand, and thus looks are as important as function. That’s why Alpine took things to another level by engaging legendary French architect and industrial designer Philippe Starck and his team to provide the styling that makes the new building so distinctive.
In addition, the motorhome has to be a practical design. It has to be transported between venues on a fleet of trucks, and then rigged and de-rigged with maximum efficiency – especially when there are back-to-back races just a few days apart. In its own way it is an engineering marvel.
The man who has overseen the development of the new motorhome is project manager Simon Lake, who brought useful experience gained with other F1 teams when he came to Enstone in 2023.
“Our old unit did the job,” he says. “But over time things moved on, and the unit just didn't. So Alpine took a decision to raise the game, and give the team members some accommodation at the circuit that they could be proud of. And this is the end result!
“There was a real determination that this would set a new standard for us as a team, and I think it's a boost for everyone.”
The unit was built by German company Schuler, which is well known across motorsport and has worked with several F1 teams.
"The quality of the build infrastructure is second to none,” says Simon. “Schuler do a good job. The steelwork underneath is built like a tank, and that's just what you need. You don't want flex – you want to be able to lift these things over one another with confidence.”
With Schuler providing the hardware Starck and his team were given free rein on design.
"The engineering was already firmly established,” Simon notes. “And I think that might have frustrated the Starck team a little bit, because there were some constraints. But we worked through them, and the end result is something that I think is just totally different.
“You run the risk of making motorhomes into a sort of airport lounge environment. And this one had to reflect some French savoir faire! And Philippe Starck has just been amazing.
“It's his initial sketches, his direction, and he has a very trusted team around him.And there are some real talents in that team, turning those ideas, and those concept sketches, into developed sketches. And then our job is to interpret them into something we can build, and producing drawings that we can build to."
The furnishings and décor are pure Starck – a combination of specially made bespoke pieces and commercially available items, along with some classic designs from his past that were acquired via auctions. Everything was selected on the basis that it will be travelling around Europe for years to come, and regularly loaded in and out, and thus had to be robust.
"The Starck team selected the furniture, finishes, flooring, walls, ceilings, light fittings,” says Simon. “Philippe really did understand the complexities of rigging. He understood okay, you're going to use a crane, it's going to be raining, and I get it.
“He's just a fabulous designer, and he's a really funny guy, he’s got a great sense of humour, and he's easy to talk to. He'll have an idea, and then suddenly you see what was in his head. And it looks great.”
The motorhome is divided into three levels, as Simon explains: “On the ground floor we’ve got the main lower guest area/team dining area. We were a bit worried about how the race team would react to dining in there, but they love it, they absolutely adore it.
"We've also got the main kitchens, probably the best kitchens in the paddock. It's all induction and all electric power, no gas, to be as efficient as possible. We've also got our disabled toilets, and we have a wheelchair ramp – we were quite determined to factor in easy access.
“On the first floor we have a boardroom/meeting room. We have two 10-seater offices, so that’s marketing and comms, two management offices, and the two driver rooms, with their own bathrooms. We have WCs and a full shower upstairs as well for the team.
“On the top floor we've got another dining area with a bi-fold door system and an open terrace. There's also a finishing kitchen, and there are ovens, where for example we can cook cakes and freshly baked biscuits.”
The right rear corner of the motorhome houses the crane that is used to lift all the sections into place.
It’s an unusual arrangement in that it sits within the limited footprint allowed for team motorhomes by F1, whereas others have a mobile unit that leaves the paddock when rigging is complete, and is parked elsewhere.
This integral setup is efficient because the crane is already in the paddock when the race ends, and access is not restricted by derigging work undertaken by other teams.
“We've got a crane truck behind the screen,” says Lake. “And that sits with us, and the unit is made around the crane, so we're already in the paddock ready to go on breakdowns.
“We can build within our own marked footprint, that's the key to it. We don't impinge upon anybody else. The challenge is the crane is the last one out, but it has to be the first one at the other end at the next race!"
Spa was much like a test session for a new F1 car, with the first public build within the constraints of the busy paddock, and an opportunity to ensure that everything worked as planned.
“We've got a massive AC unit out on the first floor platform which provides the cooling internally,” says Simon. “The cooling has been very efficient, as we found out when we were rigging at Spa. I think the final day of rig for us it was 33degC, and so we had the ultimate test, with extreme heat. We fired up the air conditioning system, and it was lovely!
“And then the following day it tipped down with rain, and we were completely watertight. When you build the first floor, and it rains, you want to be watertight. We don't have to build the whole thing – if the weather is really, really bad, we can pause and then wait for it to improve.”
The rigging crew had plenty of time to build up the motorhome at Spa as our old one was still in use in Hungary. After post-race Pirelli tyre test there was no rush to de-rig, thanks to the summer break.
There has also been plenty of time to install it at Zandvoort. However, the big test came with the dash from the Netherlands to Italy, given the tight back-to-back schedule.
We’ve given ourselves a head start by having two examples of the base unit on which the rest of the structure sits. The second was placed at Monza in advance in order to speed up the build once the rest of the equipment arrived from Zandvoort.
Much like the race team honing pit stops and other weekend routines, the motorhome guys will become more efficient over time.
"It isn't just about the engineering of a motorhome, it’s about the dynamic in the crew,” says Simon. “And that's what we've been really working on – getting the right mindset in the crew not to rush, even if you're under time pressure. If you start to rush, you start to make mistakes. It’s about keeping the guys as fresh as we can.
“We briefed the crew before we left Schuler in Germany for Spa, because we wanted it to be an uplift, not only in the style and standard of the unit, but also in our style and standard of operation, so it sets a new standard for Alpine. And to a man, they've been fantastic.
"I think it was part and parcel of the briefing to say this is the pinnacle of motorsport, we are an F1 team, we will not accept anything but excellence. You need to understand how to achieve that, and we need to do it together. And so far, the game has been raised.”
Simon is confident that we really have set a new standard for the F1 paddock.
“Winning breeds winning, and we've had a win here,” he smiles. “And who says we can't do it elsewhere?"