Sam Bird reveals what Formula 1 reserve drivers actually do behind the scenes

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Former Formula E driver Sam Bird has shed light on what it actually is that Formula 1 reserve drivers do for teams.

Bird, who previously served as a reserve driver for the Mercedes F1 team, shared insight into the gruelling reality of the role during an interview with Lucas Stewart.

"A lot of simulation. So, pre-event and post-event," Bird explained. "Pre-event, it will be making sure that the set-up is in the right ballpark, making sure that the power distribution and the energy recovery are in the right window.

"And then post race, it'll be correlation. There will also be a sim driver during the weekend as well. So some of the teams won't necessarily always take their reserve driver to each and every event.

"Maybe the reserve will be doing post-free practice things. So if they're not happy with something, right, well, what would this spring do? What will this damper adjustment do? Let's change the ride height. What will that do on the sim?

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"And then that data will then be fed back to the race team from the sim work that they trust. Then maybe those changes will go on the race car. So it works like that. That's the main bulk of the work. And then a lot of teams now will run a two-year-old car test days throughout the year because that's what the FIA deems as fair testing.

"And then they've got the rookie days as well at the end of the year. So a reserve driver that's a rookie, that's their main responsibilities at the racetrack if they're there, drink coffee, and then a lot of tours of the garage and then a lot of talks with sponsors, press and PR."

Throughout his racing career, Bird has competed in Formula E, the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and various junior series.

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