The Formula One Method - Optimizing Performance

By Mark Mitford, HR Catalyst Consulting

I have been watching the Netflix docuseries on Formula One racing recently, and I must admit it becomes somewhat addictive. For true car racing enthusiasts this is an exciting time of year. The 2024 Formula One (F1) racing season just commenced in Bahrain last weekend. Over a period of 10 months, F1 teams literally fly around the world competing - next stop, Australia.

F1 teams are middle sized organizations, most averaging around 600 people on a team, and most of the team members are engineers, car designers, and parts manufacturers. There is only one team boss or principal who runs every facet of the racing team, and there are only two drivers on each team. Each F1 team has two cars in each race, and there are 10 teams in each race, for a total of 20 cars per race. F1 cars can reach speeds above 230 miles an hour, and a pit stop for new tires and fuel averages 2.5 seconds! 

Let’s take a look at what we can apply from F1 racing to have higher performing organizations, teams and people. The team principal is the CEO of the team. He creates the team culture and the overall tone for the team. When it comes down to accountability and the performance of the cars on race day, this really lies with the team principal. Of course, the stars of F1 are the drivers, but the overall accountability of the race car’s performance on any given day is owned by the team principal to put the best car on the track for each race. It doesn’t matter how good the drivers are—if the car they are racing isn’t performing well, you know who the top finishers will be very quickly (barring no major accidents during the race). 

Here are the key learnings from F1 racing for us as business leaders:

• Know what your role and responsibilities are within the team. Do your part and do it well. Do not try to do someone else’s role or interfere where you shouldn’t.
• The team principal runs the team, sets the culture and is ultimately accountable for the team’s success.
• The pit crew (about 20-30 team members) who handle the 2.5 seconds (or less) pit stops know their assignments and focus on those assignments only.
• The driver’s job is to optimize the car’s performance during the race. They will constantly receive and give feedback during the race regarding the car’s performance. A few things can be changed during the race, but no major adjustments can happen.
• The engineers, designers, and parts manufacturers’ work is done well in advance of race day. They probably play the most important part regarding the car’s performance. They take in all the feedback received during race day and make necessary adjustments before the next race at another location around the world. 

Know your job, do it well, and stay out of the way of other experts on the team. That’s what makes an F1 team successful and will make your team successful too. 

About HR Catalyst: HR Catalyst is a group of highly-experienced HR leaders and business executives. More than professional consultants, we are business leaders who grew up in SMBs and Fortune 500 companies with the same challenges you face. We partner with clients to create and implement strategies that optimize employee performance and improve talent retention. For more information about HR Catalyst, visit hrcatalystconsulting.com.

Mark Mitford has held top HR positions in Fortune 500 companies such as PepsiCo, Nortel, Texas Instruments, Ericsson, and many mid-sized companies. Mark offers valuable insight from firsthand experiences. Mark brings proven business-minded strategies from his 25+ years of experience as an HR leader to help small-to-mid-sized companies flourish.