In motorsports, whether it is NASCAR or Formula One, so much happens behind the scenes to make a car competitive on the track. While the driver is the face of the operation, it takes an entire team of mechanics, a pit crew, and support staff to make the car run well enough to win races.

However, the salaries of behind-the-scenes motorsports crews are not public knowledge, and so many fans often assume how much they are paid. One such speculation prompted a former Formula One technician, Calum Nicholas, to shed some light on the reality of the situation.

Why Are NASCAR and F1 Insiders Busting Salary Myths?

The discussion started after a fan on X posted a frustrated comment, though the specific incident is unclear. The fan wrote, “No, we seriously need to locate that front left wheel gun man and get him fired, you are earning £350,000 a YEAR, more than 95% of the world’s population for a maximum of a 3-second WORK SHIFT EVERY TWO WEEKS…” The post suggested a pit crew member was massively overpaid for a mistake made during a race.

According to Nicholas, however, those numbers could not be more wrong. Replying to the now-deleted comment, he wrote, “This is why so few people in the paddock interact on here by the way. Bs opinions like this. It’s embarrassing. Average salary for an F1 Tech is closer to £60k by the way. The average working week is about 70 hours. Most fly economy, and nobody gets paid more for being on the pit crew.”

This is why so few people in the paddock interact on here by the way. Bs opinions like this. It’s embarrassing.

Average salary for an F1 Tech is closer to £60k by the way.

The average working week is about 70 hours.

Most fly economy, and nobody gets paid more for being on… https://t.co/1X1iXwtoUq

— Calum Nicholas (@F1mech) September 8, 2025

Soon after, Bozi Tatarevic, a NASCAR mechanic, joined the conversation and praised Nicholas for his honesty. Tatarevic wrote, “This is why it’s important to have voices like @F1mech in racing because public crew member salary information is so rare. Many fans believe that pit crew members make exorbitant amounts of money for a few minutes of work but in reality the opposite is true especially in F1.”

This is why it’s important to have voices like @F1mech
in racing because public crew member salary information is so rare.

Many fans believe that pit crew members make exorbitant amounts of money for a few minutes of work but in reality the opposite is true especially in F1. https://t.co/3Qh7g1Cik8
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) September 8, 2025

Earlier this year, when Red Bull had pit stop fumbles with both cars in Bahrain, causing an uproar among F1 fans, Nicholas came to the defense of his former colleagues. In a video shared on Instagram, he said, “You’re going to do about 100 live pit stops a year. So, the idea that every single one of them is going to be perfect is a bit of a ridiculous standard to set for yourself.”

Nicholas was a power unit technician with Red Bull Racing when Max Verstappen won the driver championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In February of 2025, he decided to leave the full-time role, though he still remains with the team in an ambassadorial capacity.

Technicians and pit crew members play a crucial role in a team’s success, which often exposes them to intense criticism. However, as Tatarevic and Nicholas revealed, their jobs are far from easy, and their salaries do not always justify the constant pressure they endure.