The correlation between F1 and business.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix and learn a few things along the way.

From the perspective of a spectator, the F1 is simply a race; an opportunity to watch the pinnacles of automotive engineering tear around a racetrack for 90 minutes.

However, like most peak performance endeavours, there are correlations with business that run deep below the surface..

Here is what was reiterated to me during the Melbourne F1:?

Tall poppy syndrome is real in Australia.

If you watched the race, you would know that on lap 3 of 58, Max Verstappen had to retire his car due to a mechanical fault, ultimately resulting in the vehicle catching on fire.

On TV, this is what you would have seen.

But at the event? The crowd went nuts, cheering in celebration that he couldn’t race.

For a country that prides itself on its sportsmanship, it was very bizarre to witness. Max Verstappen - undoubtedly the most formidable F1 driver of the last 5 seasons – being booed and cheered because he was unable to compete.

It’s a sad reality that no matter how good you are, if you’re TOO good, people get uncomfortable.

Very quickly you see other people project their own shortcomings onto those doing better than them.

Everyone is an armchair expert when watching from the outside.

It is easy for people to judge and commentate when they are not directly involved in what you are doing.

“You should do this”.

“He should have done it this way”.

“Why would they do that”.

Like the F1 driver behind the wheel, when you’re in business for yourself, it is you who is taking the risk and driving your race.

So why care about the opinions of people expressing their opinion from the outside?

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Teamwork is essential.

When you watch the F1, it is easy to focus only on the driver of the car.

But behind the man in the helmet, there are HUNDREDS of people, working together to ensure the odds of winning are tilted in their favour.

The pit crew, engineers, investors, reserve drivers, principals, etc. There is an entire support system for the driver you see on TV, which you rarely hear about.

While we aren’t driving vehicles at mind bending speeds, our success is dependent on the support network behind us.

Your spouse, staff, business partners, associates, accountants, solicitors, marketing teams, etc.

For every successful person you see, there is always a group of people behind the scenes that you don’t hear about and rarely see.

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The details matter.

For an F1 car, a small – and seemingly insignificant – mechanical improvement can have a massive impact on where the team finishes on the leaderboard at the end of the season.

Tiny adjustments, like making the chassis 0.5mm lower to the ground, or one third of a kg lighter, can put you miles ahead of the competition and yield enormous benefits on the track.

In business, the same principle applies.

No matter how good you get at what you do, it is essential to focus on how you can improve your product or service ever so slightly. These small changes, compounded over time, can drastically alter the trajectory of your success.

Now, the questions remains…

Do I book Singapore?

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