Physical training may get most of the attention, but mental preparations remain incredibly important in the Formula 1 world.
Having the right mind-set and being fully focused on the car and track is crucial to success in the sport.
We often see drivers posting pictures on Twitter or Instagram, as they train in the gym, go cycling or hike up a mountain. However, what we don’t see and hear much about is the psychological and mental training that they do. It isn’t as obvious, but is vital.
Mental strength is something that all F1 drivers need, whether it is to cope with the stresses and strains of a F1 race weekend, the constant media attention, the focus and attention to detail needed to drive around some of the toughest circuits in the world or the busy lifestyle.
"The mind is everything," Sir Jackie Stewart is quoted as saying in an interview with The Telegraph in 2003. "All the boys in Formula 1 today have gifts from God and there's 20 of them. Then there's the top six, then the extraordinary three.
"But the genius is the one who takes it to another level. That is Michael Schumacher today, just as there once was Fangio, Clark, myself if you like, Lauda, Prost, Senna - the absolute multiple champions. And it's always the head that took them there."
Whilst some are on that other level, the entire F1 grid needs to prepare mentally as well as physically for the seasons ahead. There are a variety of different ways to do that, one of which is visualisation, which some drivers do to familiarise themselves with the race tracks, imagining when to brake, start turning in, apply the throttle and which kerbs to clip. This can be done anywhere and anytime, before a session, race or after a stint in the simulator.
There are also techniques with breathing, which last year’s championship runner-up Nico Rosberg admitted to improving over the off-season. "I learnt some things from over the winter, for example my breathing was something I could work on in the race car," he is quoted as saying ahead of the 2015 season.
"When we go through fast corners we hold the breath because there's so much G-force and you can't really breathe properly so I tried to work on that a little bit in the winter."
When sat in the car, a driver’s attention should be on one thing – the racing. Problems away from the track, things they need to sort out and plans for the future all need to be pushed away at that moment. We have seen drivers lose focus thanks to issues off the circuit – Lewis Hamilton’s split with Nicole Scherzinger is an obvious one.
It is no surprise that some drivers use psychologists to improve their mental strength. Romain Grosjean admitted to seeing one at the end of the 2012 season, after causing the monumental Turn 1 pile-up at Spa-Francorchamps that year and getting caught up in several other incidents. Felipe Massa has also previously used therapy to improve his psychological mind-set after bad results.
Research has shown that managing emotion is a key factor in a person’s ability to perform at a consistently high level in competitive sport. In fact, the brain maps of amateurs and experts playing a competitive game highlight other stark differences, including the fact that experienced players show a higher level of engagement and patience than amateurs. Introducing mental training techniques to improve self-control, engagement and patience are therefore becoming more commonplace in the world of competitive sport.
The results of the study link in well with the mental strength of Formula 1 drivers, where emotion has to be pushed aside in favour of focus and concentration and self-control is crucial to keep a calm head, not make mistakes and push things over the limit – something that Pastor Maldonado possibly struggles with. It may not be as obvious, but mental training remains an important part of the sport.
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| © Daimler |
We often see drivers posting pictures on Twitter or Instagram, as they train in the gym, go cycling or hike up a mountain. However, what we don’t see and hear much about is the psychological and mental training that they do. It isn’t as obvious, but is vital.
Mental strength is something that all F1 drivers need, whether it is to cope with the stresses and strains of a F1 race weekend, the constant media attention, the focus and attention to detail needed to drive around some of the toughest circuits in the world or the busy lifestyle.
"The mind is everything," Sir Jackie Stewart is quoted as saying in an interview with The Telegraph in 2003. "All the boys in Formula 1 today have gifts from God and there's 20 of them. Then there's the top six, then the extraordinary three.
"But the genius is the one who takes it to another level. That is Michael Schumacher today, just as there once was Fangio, Clark, myself if you like, Lauda, Prost, Senna - the absolute multiple champions. And it's always the head that took them there."
Whilst some are on that other level, the entire F1 grid needs to prepare mentally as well as physically for the seasons ahead. There are a variety of different ways to do that, one of which is visualisation, which some drivers do to familiarise themselves with the race tracks, imagining when to brake, start turning in, apply the throttle and which kerbs to clip. This can be done anywhere and anytime, before a session, race or after a stint in the simulator.
 |
| © Daimler |
There are also techniques with breathing, which last year’s championship runner-up Nico Rosberg admitted to improving over the off-season. "I learnt some things from over the winter, for example my breathing was something I could work on in the race car," he is quoted as saying ahead of the 2015 season.
"When we go through fast corners we hold the breath because there's so much G-force and you can't really breathe properly so I tried to work on that a little bit in the winter."
When sat in the car, a driver’s attention should be on one thing – the racing. Problems away from the track, things they need to sort out and plans for the future all need to be pushed away at that moment. We have seen drivers lose focus thanks to issues off the circuit – Lewis Hamilton’s split with Nicole Scherzinger is an obvious one.
It is no surprise that some drivers use psychologists to improve their mental strength. Romain Grosjean admitted to seeing one at the end of the 2012 season, after causing the monumental Turn 1 pile-up at Spa-Francorchamps that year and getting caught up in several other incidents. Felipe Massa has also previously used therapy to improve his psychological mind-set after bad results.
Research has shown that managing emotion is a key factor in a person’s ability to perform at a consistently high level in competitive sport. In fact, the brain maps of amateurs and experts playing a competitive game highlight other stark differences, including the fact that experienced players show a higher level of engagement and patience than amateurs. Introducing mental training techniques to improve self-control, engagement and patience are therefore becoming more commonplace in the world of competitive sport.
The results of the study link in well with the mental strength of Formula 1 drivers, where emotion has to be pushed aside in favour of focus and concentration and self-control is crucial to keep a calm head, not make mistakes and push things over the limit – something that Pastor Maldonado possibly struggles with. It may not be as obvious, but mental training remains an important part of the sport.
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