domdogger wrote:thanks for the tips, but would aerospace materials be any good?
F1 has always been a little ahead of aerospace when it comes to quickly and widely adopting materials. But the push over the last couple of years has been to move away from expensive exotic materials, that aren't already there.
Exotic materials research might produce some great materials that would be ideal for F1, but the rules may not allow them in the future, or right now, to avoid spiralling costs.
The future of materials, in my opinion, and from trends I have seen lately, meant that Rapid Prototyping systems printing out finished parts that can be used on race cars already exist. But if the same part can be made out of a little carbon fibre and resin, some sanding, paint etc, will it be adopted by teams any time soon?
But you did ask about technician. A technician is a narrowly focused person who is very skilled at one system or part. A brake technician for example might want to know about exotic materials, but would need to know very little about the engine in relation to the brakes.