Formula 1 – a team sport

At the end of every Grand Prix television broadcast viewers can watch a post-race press conference, where the three podium finishers are sitting behind a table, the winner in the centre with the second-place finisher seated to his right and the third-place finisher to his left. Sporting their sponsors’ caps and watches with their overalls closed to the neck, they towel sweat from their brows and pour themselves drinks from a pitcher containing an unidentified orange-coloured liquid. In turn they answer questions about the race from an off-screen interviewer. After doing so, the drivers whose native tongues are something other than English make a short comment in their own language to their fans at home. Invariably, the driver graciously pays tribute to the many contributors within the team who had made it possible for him to finish in the top three.

And rightly so. Formula 1 drivers know they would not be racing week after week without the extraordinary efforts of the entire team. While the driver is seemingly alone as he navigates the circuit, Formula 1 is a team sport and the skills of the best driver cannot guarantee victory without a well-coordinated and efficiently executing team behind him.