Spanners may be a fictional character in a made-up Formula 1 team, but his secret AUTOSPORT diary is based on the real experiences of a former grand prix mechanic. Here's the first of his insights into what life in F1 is really like...

So here we are, a few weeks into the new year and it's getting busy at our big shiny HiFlex F1 factory.

I always find it amazing that after a whole month off over December, sleeping in my own bed and wearing clothes of my own choosing, just a couple of weeks in each year we're into 14-hour days and I'm knackered again.

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