George, I find now the best way is to go to a simulator and do laps around the track, look at videos of some onboard data, if available, from a car that has run there before and do a track walk and make notes of potential markers around the track for braking. I will also take photos of the corners and straights on my phone so I can flick through them to learn the track. When I drive on the track for the first time I will look for those makers and see if they work or I have to find different ones, plus feel for any bumps that can also be used for references.

SAFEisFAST.com Videos: Learning a New Track, Getting the most out of Sim

Marc, the racing is very different between the USA and Europe. I have been lucky to race in both and at the right time in my career. This is because I raced in Europe when I was young and was aiming for F1. Europe is very cut throat and less friendly than the US, which was fine when I was young, but as I got older I enjoyed racing in America because the racing is great and the paddock is more friendly. Also the FIA run their series much more strictly than the U.S. One example is I raced in the ALMS for 13 years and I never had to see a steward for doing something wrong. If there was a problem, an official would come and have a chat and that would be it. My first race in the FIA GT World Championship in 2011, I had to go and see the stewards three times — and one of those times they got the wrong driver!

SAFEisFAST.com Videos: Racing in Europe

Hi David, the thing that impresses me about Seb is his near perfection driving. You don’t see him make mistakes when on the track now and he seems to just get better. For sure he has the best car which makes a big difference too, but he still has to do it. This tells me his mental strength, his focus, is something special. It’s the same if you watch him qualifying, on the first lap of the race or his overall race pace – he is so fast, totally confident in himself and his car. The combination of Vettel and Red Bull is at one with each other and it is impressive to watch.

I agree Martin, there are too many junior series here in Europe, but to really test yourself, European racing is the place to be. I wish that we had a system like the Mazda Road to Indy as it is so difficult for young drivers here to reach their dream of F1. But if your dream is to get to the top, then go for it and see how far you get.

SAFEisFAST.com Videos: The Ladder System

Alexander, I don’t do many standing starts these days, but when I do it is normally in a V8 SuperCar in Australia. Regardless of the kind of start, I have found that it boils down more to how much I want to get to the first corner first. When you start a 24-hour race your intent, desire and obsession to get to the front is not as high as a sprint race. I also found the better prepared I am before the start the better they are. For Mark Webber’s starts, I really don’t know. I will ask him when I see him next if he knows! It seems odd that Seb (Vettel) gets it right but Mark normally doesn’t, but I am not close enough to make a judgment on it.

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Starts and Restarts

Hi Jacob, my moving to sports cars came about because I couldn’t continue in F1, which was down to bringing money to the table. When I went to F1 in 1990 I was too inexperienced and didn’t make the most of the situation – I went directly from F3 to F1. I then drove for Jaguar at Tom Walkinshaw Racing and gained a lot of experience and worked with a much more professional team than the F1 team, so I learned a lot more. I found I really enjoyed sports cars, so when my F1 career finished in 1994, I wasn’t too unhappy because I found my love of sports cars was greater than F1. Maybe if I drove for more competitive teams in F1 it might have been different, but I didn’t. Yes, it is cool to have the Brabham Straight at Brands Hatch. My father has a long history there and won many races including F1 races. John Webb, who used to own Brands, was a good friend of my father’s, so it didn’t take much for a part of the track to be called Brabham.

Hi Alexander, I have found it very important to have a relationship with the media, as they can be key to your career progression. If you are competing in a racing series you should know who is covering it in the press. Also, find out who you can contact in the local press in the area of where you live and give them information/updates on what you are doing and go meet them – like I said, establish a relationship with them. If you can provide them with the information then they are more likely to run a story about you than if they had to do it.

SAFEisFAST.com videos: Working With the Media 1, Working With the Media 2

This is a good question Taylor. Yes, I do think it is a good idea to have an experienced driver coach – provided they are experienced in racing and, if possible, have a coaching qualification. I have seen a lot of drivers become driver coaches but I am not sure I have seen many who are that good, mainly because there is a lack of qualified coaches in our industry. In the UK the MSA, who are the governing body of British motorsport, have now put a coaching system in place which has been developed from other sports. I actually did a course and I am a Level 2 coach, but there are some drivers now doing a Level 4 coaching qualifications so the system is growing. Some of the best sportsman in the world of golf, tennis and athletics have coaches, but in F1 there are not many – not sure there if there any, to be honest. The better coaching you have, the better you can become. If you are serious about winning, you need to find any way to gain that extra performance.

SAFEisFAST Video: The Driver Coach

Hi Bob, right, where is my crystal ball?! Although I can’t see the future, I do believe the future will mirror what the manufacturers and governments want. There are many challenges ahead of us, not just global warming, but more importantly the air we breathe. The big cities are having pollution problems by the unseen pollutants, so efficiency and clean energy will be the future of racing because the manufacturers will have to make these changes and racing will become the laboratory — well, it already is.

Hi William. Gil de Ferran and Jacques Villeneuve did pretty good with poor eyesight! It’s not a problem as long as you have the proper correction.

Hi Andrew, my father said to me when I first started racing, never give up in an accident. I am sure it saved his life many times, but I took it on board. I have had many moments where I just did whatever I could to avoid a big one and it saved me a few times. I once had a race in F3 and I knew I was having a head-on into a concrete wall at a bridge and I remember thinking to myself, well at least I am in a Ralt (chassis) and just relaxed when I hit the wall. I was fine, no damage; can’t say the same for the car though!

SAFEisFAST.com Video: How to Crash – Safely

Kevin, I get very involved with setup and for me this is a big reason I have had a career for so long in racing. Although I am not a technician, I do know what a car does in relation to aero and mechanical balance and I will know what to do to make it quicker. Having a good feel for the tyres and knowing what that tyre needs is very important.

SAFEisFAST.com Videos: Engineering the Race Car, Basic Chassis Setup 1

Hi Marty, I am careful most of the time anyway, so my diet doesn’t change much. I don’t load up with pasta, as it seems not to be the right thing to do for me. Fruit and veggies give the body great fuel, so I would eat a bit more of that.

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Fueling the Driver

Stephen, good question. When I was young and foolish, I would drive way too fast out on the farm roads in Australia. When I moved to England in 1988, I slowed right down. If fact, my racing friends don’t like driving with me because I drive too slow. Having children also made me slower, as there is nothing like a driver driving too fast around children to make me angry. Each driver is different, but I think we have a responsibility to drive safely. It would be hard to explain how you hurt someone in a car driving too fast and you have to explain you’re a racing driver….!

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Drive Smart

Hi Sam, this is the million dollar question, racing is more reliant on the sponsorship dollar. I am sure there are driver who are better at this than I am, but a cold sale is always hard. If you can develop relationships with people it makes it easier. You also need to have a good idea what you’re selling and why the sponsor will benefit. Any B to B will make quite a difference.

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Sponsorship

Ha, good question, James. My father was one of the lucky ones to get through that era of racing, so when his sons wanted to go racing he was reluctant to help us to begin with. When we just kept going and showed we really wanted it, he then started to get behind us. Our mother Betty was the one who suffered the most!

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Evolution of Safety

Hi Michael, if you are being paid to do a racing driver’s job, then there are high expectations by the people paying you. This means you are an asset to them because you are fast, you have an understanding of the car and how to make it faster, plus a good team player. As far as technique, everyone drives a bit different, but you have to be fast and consistent in your lap times and style. I hope that helps.

Hi Trevor, the MSA young driver development programme was set up so that the MSA could take a more active roll in British drivers. All they did before was just take money off everyone and put nothing back. Robert Reid, who was Richard Burns’ navigator in the World Rally Championship, urged the MSA to help young British Rally drivers, because after Colin McRae and Richard Burns who were World Champions, there was no one else coming through. After 18 months of starting the scheme and concentrating on rallying, the MSA wanted to do the same in circuit racing. They put out a tender and we got the deal. I ran the MSA British Race Elite program for three years helping young drivers with their understanding of what it takes to get to the top. We then ran the race and rally programmes together and called the scheme MSA Team UK. This has now developed into the MSA Academy where the MSA has nearly 60 drivers including the Team UK drivers. I am now a consultant as the MSA took it over from my Performance Clinic. It has been great to see Sam Bird, Max Chilton and James Calado reach F1, either in a third driver roll or Max being an F1 driver.

SAFEisFAST Video: Young Driver Excellence Academy

A: Hi James, Finding the Zone and staying in it is a great challenge for any competitor in sport. I find the zone by making sure my preparation is at the right level for when I need to tap into the zone. If I haven’t prepared well, so my fitness, mental strength or stillness of my mind, plus getting the car set up right to get the best from the tires, then getting in the zone is harder. My mind knows it and becomes busy with too many thoughts that make it harder to be in the zone. I have been in some incredible zone like states over the years, but sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn’t. I find being more aware of myself really helps to be consistent in my performance. If I feel low or to hyped up, I will change myself with different thoughts and breathing to get the right balance for me to perform well.

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Focus and Concentration

Hi Gerard, I guess I had a few hurdles in my career, but they were important for me as a person to go through. Each hurdle that came I would see a mountain in front of me and think, OK, how the hell do I get over this? But I found over time these hurdles were not as bad as my mind first made them out to be, as I always found a way to get through it. As I got older I realised that life has infinite possibilities, I just have to open my eyes to them.

Hi Maria, I think when I grew up I looked up to Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. They were ahead of anyone else at that time and they both pushed each other to another level. I liked the way Prost drove, very smooth and deceivingly quick. I loved watching Senna’s commitment and faith, he did some remarkable things in the car. I was luck to have been in the same race as them, although I never actually raced against them….!

Hi Christopher. Good question. There is isn’t just one path to take, as life can take you in different ways but still end up where you wanted to get to. Planning ahead is good to do, writing down your goals in a positive way, plus getting as many experiences as possible on and off the track. Also for your son to understand himself and how to go beyond where he is right now. I mean the level of focus he can get to, the levels of determination, hard work and believing in himself. These for me are the most important things to learn as they dictate a lot of what happens in the future.

Hi Marc, I still remember those days and think of what could have been, but I was also close to the Audi drive when it started through Joest but it didn’t happen. Maybe I could have had many Le Mans victories as Tom K got the drive and I went elsewhere! To be honest, I look back and think, wow, I have been lucky to have had the career I had and am still enjoying. All these experiences have made me the person I am today, so I don’t have any regrets.

Hi Marc, I am a big believer in teamwork and this is so evident in preparing for a 24-hour race. Winning a big race like Le Mans takes so many things to come together, so the team has to work as one unit. Good, smart collective thinking is the key, plus it is a place where if some egos are too big, then it will hurt your progress. As a driver you have to work with two other drivers, and if you can work together well and you put your self-worth to one side, you can achieve a lot. I was lucky to have won Le Mans three times in a row, twice with Aston Martin in GT1 and LMP1 with Peugeot. In those three races the team work was exceptional, as well as the preparation the team did before the event. This was very much the case of making your own luck and we did.

Hi Howard, there are many, but attitude is a big one. Racing is a small world and your attitude to what you do, who you are and to others is key. Hard work, dedication, having faith in oneself and always finding a positive out of a negative are all important. I believe a driver should be an asset to a team, so you need to be very good at everything you do. You have to have that desire to always improve and you will be surprised how far you can get.

SAFEisFAST Video: What Teams Look For

Hi Jumpy, thank you for the kind words, but it is a good question. When I think about when I went through the ranks I was lucky that I didn’t have to pay towards a drive, which was a bonus because I could just focus on my driving. Since my F3 days in 1989 to today, I have always been paid to drive. It is very different now for the young drivers coming through because there is less money and more competition for the dollar; drivers of today have to find ways of bringing money to get a seat. Will it change? Good question, but I can only see the situation getting worse before it gets better.

Hi Bo, thanks for the question but I don’t know of any recordings of the Repco engine or what setups they had back then. A lot will depend on the tyre model on the SIM in relation to how the setups influence the car. I will ask my father if he remembers. He might do, I remember my F3 set up from 1989!

Hi Mac, fitness is big part of the preparation of doing a good job at the track, so it is very important. I find I need to have someone with more knowledge than me and someone to push me in my training. I can train myself but it is always better that I have someone setting the targets and pushing me like crazy to reach them. I am not a big weights person, so my training consists of less weight and more reps, plus using my own body weight where possible, and core work. I don’t run because of my back, so cycling works well for me. As far as my diet is concerned, I found the best thing is to listen to my body, as it knows what it needs, but you have to tune into it. I am also lucky that I was born with a body that doesn’t put on weight easily, although this can be a disadvantage in hot conditions where I sweat a lot, as I don’t have a lot to lose…!

SAFEisFAST.com Videos: Fitness Overview and Nutrition, Nutrition: Fueling the Driver

Hi Romesh, well this depends on the car and engine characteristics, but it is all down to the amount of grip you have available from the tire. Listen and feel what the tires are doing, as the tires are designed to be driven in a certain way to get the most grip out of them. Tire grip comes from a small transition of input first, so throttle, braking and steering, the more aggressive you are the less grip you could have, unless you just want to have fun and get the tail out…!

SAFEisFAST.com Video: Is Smooth Fast?

Having talent alone is not enough; you have to work hard to achieve your goals. You have to find any angle you can, but you also you need to understand your own image or brand and ask yourself, is it consistent? It is very easy to give up hope and think it isn’t happening, but a big dose of faith and perseverance can bring you good luck.

SAFEisFAST.com Video: The Complete Driver