From Pole Position to Product Management: How Product Managers Steer the Business Race to Victory

“We win and lose together.” – Lewis Hamilton, 2014

While there is only one steering wheel and thus only one driver gets to cross the finish line, there are countless people who work for and have the drive to win the same race. Lewis Hamilton (LH) recognizes the team behind him, and that without his team, there is no win.

If you’re familiar with F1, you’ll know there’s an entertaining dynamic between the race engineer and the driver.

In this 2023 exchange, current world champion Max Verstappen (MV) and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (GP) share some – shall we say – spice:

MV: "Are we both doing it or what?"

(referring to both MV and his teammate Sergio Perez)

GP: "You just have to follow my instructions."

MV: "I want to know if both cars do it."

GP: "Max, please follow my instructions. Thank you."

Oooo, spicy! Watch/Listen to the exchange over on YouTube.

Then there’s the now iconic quote by Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, in 2013:

“Ok, Lewis, it’s hammer time”

Here's hammer time over on YouTube

Very different approaches, sure. Again, it’s entertainment. Both MV and LH, however, greatly appreciate the role the race engineer plays.

Hamilton once said:

“I’m incredibly grateful for Bono. I’ve had an amazing journey with him, I think we’ve got one of the longest, if not the longest standing driver-engineer partnerships that there’s been, and he’s been hugely integral to my success. We’ve had an amazing journey together, we’ve supported each other on and off-track, through good and bad times, and I love working with Bono; he’s like a brother to me, a brother from another mother.”

So, what is a race engineer, and how does that role contribute to the success of an F1 team?

Here on LinkedIn, you might be familiar with the term Product Manager.

A Product Manager is akin to the race engineer in Formula 1, orchestrating the collaboration and information sharing dynamics of back-office teams, pit crew, engineers, the driver, and team leadership – vis-a-vis the team’s overall strategy for that particular race and year.

Rather than drive, the Product Manager acts as the master navigator and communicator – synthesizing information, anticipating shifts in the landscape, and steering the journey with a data-driven understanding of the road they’re on, where they’re headed, their progress so far, and team, stakeholder, and environmental dynamics.

It’s in this capacity that the Product Manager contributes to the success of the organization’s journey by ensuring smooth operation of the product development process, and supporting specialized teams as they focus on their tasks and contribute to the overall success of the product and the business.

So, how’s your relationship with your race engineer?

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