Marc Priestley

Marc Priestley (born 6 October 1976) is a British-born former mechanic. After leaving McLaren in 2009, he transitioned to a media career, appearing in numerous television programs. He is also the voice of the race engineer in F1 22.
== Career ==
=== Mechanic ===
Priestley was educated at Dartford Grammar School.
After attending West Kent College and studying Motor Vehicle Technology, Priestley worked as an apprentice race mechanic for a series of small motor sport teams in London, working with Caterham Seven cars. He eventually became the lead mechanic on his team's GT3 sports car, after which he moved into single-seater racing with Lanan Racing's Formula Ford project. Following a stint with the Speedsport team in British Formula 3, Priestley was hired as chief mechanic at Orbit Motorsport in Formula 3000.
In , Priestley was hired by McLaren as a test team mechanic and quickly rose through the ranks. His first race weekend with McLaren was at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix, where he was responsible for changing the car's front wing. During his years at McLaren, he worked as the Number Two mechanic for Kimi Räikkönen before becoming the Number One mechanic for the team's T-car.
In , he worked as a liaison between both sides of the McLaren garage in the aftermath of a tense season between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. He was part of the team when they won the World Drivers' Championship with Hamilton at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.
After the team's successful season, Priestley opted to work from the team's Woking base in instead of travelling to each race. It was during this time that he began to focus on his online blog. He left the team at the end of the season to pursue a media career.
=== Media ===
After leaving McLaren, he began writing about motorsport for various magazines and websites, including Autosport and F1 Racing. He also provided previews and analysis of Grand Prix for other international radio networks, such as TalkSport Radio.
After a producer read his articles, he was asked to join Jennie Gow as a pitlane reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live at the 2012 British Grand Prix, also interviewing Bernie Ecclestone. While still writing in print publications, Priestley began appearing as a guest on Sky Sports News and the Sky Sports F1 Channel show, The F1 Show.
In 2014, Priestley signed a deal to present the technical side of an F1-based series for CNBC, called One Second in F1 Racing. The series looked at all aspects of Formula One, with Priestley explaining topics like aerodynamics, pit stops, electronics, and tyres.
That year also saw Priestley join up once again with Jennie Gow, to front the new FIA Formula E series, broadcast live on ITV4.
In 2015, Priestley filmed a six-part docuseries called Driving Wild in which he explored a variety of unusual motorsports around the world. the series aired on the Discovery Channel the following year.
Priestley was hired to replace Ant Anstead for the 17th season of the British TV show Wheeler Dealers in 2021.
=== Voice Acting ===
In 2022, Priestley voiced the race engineer in the F1 22 game, replacing long-time voice actor Adam Rhys Dee, who has played the role of race engineer since F1 2010. To add authenticity to the role, Priestley recorded his lines for the game using an actual Formula One headset.
== Works ==
* The Mechanic: The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
== Notes ==
Category:McLaren Racing
Category:1976 births
Category:People
Category:Living people