The little-known Aussie behind wild F1 success

Australia is simply a federation with a arrogant past successful Formula 1. From Sir Jack Brabham to Daniel Ricciardo, Alan Jones and Mark Webber successful betwixt – there's been plentifulness to celebrate.

However, down the scenes, determination person been galore who person hidden successful plain presumption and had arsenic overmuch occurrence astatine motorsport's peak.

That includes Chris Papadopoulos, a sanction that won't registry for most, but idiosyncratic who has had a long-lasting interaction connected Formula 1 to this day.

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Romain Grosjean celebrates with the Lotus squad aft finishing 3rd astatine the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix. (Corbis via Getty Images)

After studying mechanical engineering astatine university, Papadopoulos moved to the UK wherever helium worked with different Australian successful the throes of getting his vocation going – Will Power.

Papadopoulos' intro to Europe saw him unrecorded lone a stone's propulsion distant from Silverstone – location of the British Grand Prix – and moving successful Formula 3, Formula Renault, and A1GP.

Having been exposed to the Renault formulae, Papadopoulos soon recovered a spot with the French manufacturer's Formula 1 squad and went connected to bask a decade-long career.

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First, helium began arsenic a probe and improvement technologist successful the conveyance show group, winning successful his archetypal twelvemonth successful Formula 1 with Fernando Alonso successful 2006.

Papadopoulos held that presumption until 2010, astatine which constituent helium became a trackside engineer.

In his assorted roles, helium was successful complaint of electronics, systems, and chassis management.

Fernando Alonso successful enactment connected his mode to winning the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix. (Getty)

He besides worked with the contention technologist and fig 1 mechanic ensuring that everything functioned arsenic intended earlier giving the greenish airy to permission pit lane.

He tasted occurrence with 2 teams. Although not astatine Red Bull, the squad enjoyed the fruits of Papadopoulos' labour erstwhile it won 4 teams' championships and 4 drivers' championships with Sebastian Vettel successful Renault-powered cars with systems helium developed.

Later, helium enjoyed 1 of the sweetest wins of each erstwhile Kimi Raikkonen won the Australian Grand Prix successful 2013.

"I was fortunate to person an unthinkable career," Papadopoulos told Wide World of Sports.

"The archetypal title triumph was evidently hugely affectional to instrumentality that drivers' and constructors', successful 2006.

Kimi Raikkonen won the 2013 Australian Grand Prix with Lotus-Renault. (Getty)

"I past manufactured parts of the car that I can't speech astir that went into the Red Bull constructors' championships for the adjacent 4 years successful a row, from 2010 to 2013. 

"That was precise gratifying to cognize that the bits I had designed and developed and tested were utilized successful that way, adjacent now, to cognize immoderate of the substance systems are inactive successful use.

"We won the Australian Grand Prix successful 2013 with Kimi Raikkonen. To triumph connected location soil, for me, was beauteous cool. That was different highlight. 

"To clasp that Australian Grand Prix trophy and person that champagne… I'd been going to races successful Australia since the '80s successful Adelaide. To bash that from the wrong was conscionable incredible. 

"And past there's the friendships you marque on the way. To person worked with implicit legends of the athletics is thing I'll ne'er forget, arsenic good arsenic the cognition gained on the way."

Chris Papadopoulos (right) present runs a GT3 squad successful GT World Challenge Australia. (Nathan Wong)

The satellite of Formula 1 is simply a gruelling 1 for its crews who walk astir of the twelvemonth travelling.

In his last season, Formula 1 held 19 grands prix betwixt March and November. In the years since, that has accrued to 22 and volition beryllium 24 travel adjacent twelvemonth – the astir ever.

All up, Papadopoulos worked retired helium spent 7 months of the twelvemonth successful hotels and lone 5 astatine location successful his last campaign.

Eventually, determination comes a clip erstwhile a caller situation is due.

"As a kid, I wasn't ever reasoning I would marque it to F1 from Australia," said Papadopoulos.

"I thought if I could bash it for a year, that'd beryllium great. One twelvemonth turned into two, into three, into 5 and earlier I knew it I had been successful the UK for 10 years. 

"I worked my mode from the mill conveyance show radical onto the contention squad engineering squad and worked with implicit greats of the athletics – Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and others, Romain Grosjean, Heikki Kovalainen. 

"It was conscionable a large clump of radical who I had managed to conscionable connected the mode through. It was a truly large thrill to spell and bash that. 

"I recovered that aft capable clip had passed, I truly achieved much than I had dreamt of, truthful I came backmost successful 2014."

The Volante Rosso-run Harrolds Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. (Daniel Kalisz)

Upon returning home, helium worked with respective established teams earlier starting 1 of his ain – Volante Rosso.

The squad has dipped its toes into plentifulness of categories and present finds itself astatine the pinnacle of Australian sports car racing successful GT World Challenge Australia.

Now method manager of the squad nether the Harrolds Racing banner, Papadopoulos is utilizing each the cognition from his decennary successful Formula 1 to instrumentality the squad to a title with its Mercedes-AMG GT3.

"It was clip for a change," helium said.

"You tin get stuck doing the aforesaid happening forever. I got to that constituent successful my vocation wherever I had much occurrence than I could ideate and wanted to effort the adjacent challenge.

"That meant moving a squad wherever I was successful complaint and capable to tally things the champion mode I saw fit. So far, it's gone beauteous good.

"The payment of having had each that acquisition successful Formula 1 wherever you're moving with the smartest radical successful the satellite with the biggest budgets successful the sport, if you wage attraction erstwhile you're doing that you prime up accusation that you cannot accrue anyplace else," helium added.

"There's nary course, there's nary schoolhouse wherever you tin larn that isolated from doing it. I was precise diligent, I took notes, and I was fortunate to beryllium successful the presumption wherever the enactment I was doing and however good it was each going, I was capable to prime up a huge, wide spectrum successful Formula 1 moving connected tyres, aerodynamics, mechanical packages, structures, chassis, you sanction it. 

"There are things that I developed successful Formula 1 that are inactive utilized today, exertion that I brought to the array done my work. That's evidently a large feeling but the R&D budgets we had were monolithic that allowed maine to truly tune into immoderate beauteous chill tech."

Ross Poulakis volition stock the Harrolds Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Jordan Love astatine the Bathurst International. (Daniel Kalisz)

Harrolds Racing volition vie successful the SpeedSeries play finale astatine the Bathurst International with Ross Poulakis starring its efforts successful the team's Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Sam Brabham, grandson of three-time Formula 1 champion Jack Brabham, volition aviator a Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Christos Batzios.

GT World Challenge Australia is portion of a blockbuster paper crossed November 11-13, which volition beryllium shown unrecorded and ad-free connected Stan Sport from 8am connected Saturday and Sunday.

The Nine Network volition besides connection unrecorded free-to-air sum connected Saturday day from 3pm connected 9Gem.

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