Formula 1 is an incredibly demanding sport. It’s not just about driving really fast. F1 racing requires precision, split-second judgment, strategic agility, and extreme endurance.
It also tests the limits of mental resilience. F1 drivers need to constantly multitask behind the wheel without losing their focus. The slightest miscalculation or distraction can have catastrophic consequences when you’re hurtling around a circuit at breakneck speed.
“At any time during a race, drivers are dealing with inputs from several sources. In addition to driving the car and responding to other drivers on the track, they are monitoring the car through information on the steering wheel and holding conversations with the pit wall receiving or relaying additional information and race strategy,” says Dr. Tommy Wood, a neuroscientist and performance consultant associated with Hintsa Performance.
The pressure to perform is also enormous in such a high-stakes environment where a fraction of a second can make the difference between pole position and second on the grid.
For these reasons, F1 drivers train their minds as much as their bodies for peak performance.
“Formula 1, for us drivers, is as much about mental health as physical health,” shares British F1 driver George Russell in a special feature on mental health produced by Formula One.
“It’s the head that decides everything,” says Renault’s F1 team driver, Esteban Ocon, in the same video.
Luckily, many mental strategies and coping skills employed by F1 drivers are transferable and can be tapped by us ordinary folk to boost our own mental strength and well-being. Here are the top ten:
#1 Build a strong sense of self
“The foundation of a resilient F1 driver lies in a strong sense of self,” says Antti Kontsas, Head of Performance for Motorsport at Hintsa. “It’s essential to distinguish between on-track results and personal identity. If [the] identity relies solely on outcomes, the low points can quickly become overwhelming, leading to a negative spiral,” Kontsas explains.
Sense of self refers to how you perceive yourself as a whole. It involves being aware of your abilities, limitations, values, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that form your unique identity. People with a strong sense of self tend to be more self-accepting and have a higher sense of self-worth. They are more confident in their decisions and actions and are less likely to succumb to external pressures and circumstances.
A strong sense of self also helps you untangle your identity from your work. Often, people associate who they are with what they do for a living. Their work becomes their whole identity. While your job is a major part of your life, it doesn’t define you. A strong sense of self allows you to derive meaning and joy from different sources in life, making it easier to bounce back from professional setbacks.
#2 Use visualizations
Visualization involves mentally mapping a specific situation or process and going through every step in realistic detail to train your mind for better performance. In F1, this could mean mentally rehearsing the entire race, picturing every apex, pit stop, braking point, and chicane. Mentally simulating different scenarios to better prepare for potential challenges and overtaking opportunities on track.
Repeatedly visualizing specific tasks or motor patterns can improve how you perform a task and help you avoid mistakes, says Dr. Wood. “This can be particularly important when the time for physical practice is limited, as is often the case for Formula 1,” he says.
“It can really help focus the mind,” says Mark Arnall, an F1 performance coach who has worked with two world champions, Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen. “I used to use a form of this with Mika Hakkinen before qualifying, for example, to visualize the perfect lap [and] mentally run through it over and over. It worked very well,” he shares.
For best results, Dr. Wood recommends keeping the visualizations short and focusing on the process required for achieving the goal rather than the outcome itself.
#3 Set process goals
“The driver must have well-defined process goals that he can control for each session and the weekend as a whole,” says Kontsas. “Focus is often momentarily lost, but the true test is how swiftly the driver can reset and regain it. These goals offer a reference point to rely on when stress increases, allowing the driver to quickly refocus,” he adds.
Process goals are specific, measurable, task-oriented goals that help you break down a bigger outcome goal into smaller, manageable steps to help you track and review your progress.
These short-term goals make the process of achieving larger goals less overwhelming by allowing you to be in control of the process. They also provide a clear roadmap that helps you stay focused, motivated, and accountable.
#4 Focus on what’s controllable
It’s important to “put your energy in things you can control,” Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Pérez shares in the same Formula One interview that features Russell and Ocon.
In F1, anything can happen at any time. For example, “the car might blow up, [the] driver might make a mistake, or another driver might accidentally take you out,” says Arnall.
Similarly, life seldom goes as planned. Major transitions, unforeseen events, unexpected opportunities, and setbacks often push us into unchartered territory.
Focusing on what’s within your control allows you to direct your time, energy, and resources toward things you have the power to influence (e.g., actions, mindset, routines, etc.), which can lead to lower stress, more resilience, and better outcomes.
Controlling the controllable has a domino effect on your overall health and well-being. For example, reframing your thoughts can influence the way you feel about a particular situation. How you feel, in turn, affects how you act or react, which can impact your mood, productivity, and relationships.
#5 Try breathwork
Stress and emotions run high in the high-stakes, high-octane world of Formula 1. And they only intensify as the season progresses toward the final Grand Prix races. According to Arnall, some F1 drivers turn to mindfulness practices like breathwork and meditation to calm the nervous system and avoid choking under pressure. Research shows that controlled breathing exercises may reduce stress, ease anxiety, improve concentration, and enhance cognitive and athletic performance, among other benefits.
#6 Practice arousal control
Arousal in sports psychology is the level of alertness and physiological activation experienced by an athlete. If arousal is too low, they might not feel energized, focused, or motivated enough to perform at their best. On the other hand, if arousal is too high, they may feel too anxious, tense, or distracted to perform well.
The ideal level of arousal is different for different sports. “In Formula 1, some arousal is needed, for instance, to ensure quick reactions off the start line. But being too aroused might impair decision-making or information processing while navigating the first corner at the same time as 19 other cars,” says Dr. Wood.
Different drivers use different arousal management techniques. “Some drivers may perform best when they work to increase their arousal right before the race. This can be done with things like caffeine, bright light, or brief bouts of physical or cognitive exercise. Other drivers might need to decrease their arousal if they’re naturally more anxious. This can be done with certain types of meditation, rest, or breathing practices, as well as managing who they interact with in the run-up to the race,” Dr. Wood explains.
#7 Cultivate self-awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to tune into your own thoughts, feelings, and behavior and recognize how they influence the way you interact with the world around you. It allows you to better regulate your emotions, which, in turn, helps you take better actions and decisions, even in stressful situations.
In F1, self-awareness helps drivers recognize unhelpful behaviors on and off the track and work on them to develop their capacity for self-regulation for improved performance and decision-making, says Kontsas.
#8 Leverage ‘good stress’
Not all stress is bad. While managing stress is crucial, research shows that eliminating it altogether may not be ideal. Just as physical stress from exercise boosts strength and endurance, low to moderate levels of short-term stress can positively impact brain function, resilience, and performance.
Every Formula 1 driver will have failed hundreds of times in their career. The process of dealing with that failure and developing strategies and tools to improve gives them the resilience to deal with setbacks when millions of people are watching, says Dr. Wood.
#9 Get serious about rest
According to Arnall, pre-season is intense. With a calendar filled with 22-24 races, prioritizing rest and recovery is a non-negotiable. If you don’t get this right, it can negatively affect both physical and mental performance as well as increase the risk of the driver getting sick, he says. Getting quality sleep is also critical for emotional regulation and decision-making, adds Dr. Wood. The National Sleep Foundation recommends getting at least seven hours of sleep each night.
#10 Stay consistent in your fitness journey
Another key aspect everyone I spoke with emphasized is having a consistent fitness routine. Your physical and mental health aren’t mutually exclusive. They are interconnected. So, what benefits the body also tends to benefit the mind and vice versa.
“Physical fitness is associated with the capacity for motor learning, so those who are fitter may be able to learn and adapt faster when conditions change,” says Dr. Wood.
According to the neuroscientist, it also significantly enhances cognitive function and emotional regulation, both of which can come in handy in stressful conditions.
