F1 drivers should be better supported mentally, according to Jackie Stewart

Two-time world champion Jackie Stewart still holds a very precise and highly regarded opinion on the world of Formula 1. Recently, he spoke to our colleagues at Autosport about the mental support of current drivers.

According to the Scotsman, while today’s champions are perfectly well-supported physically, they are left completely free and without guidance from a mental and psychological standpoint: « I don’t understand, nowadays it is said that race car drivers are so intelligent that they don’t need a mental coach. This is absolutely false. There is not a single driver at the peak of their abilities who would not benefit from wisdom and insights they had probably never considered. »

The former Tyrrell driver specifically makes an analogy with other high-level sports that practice mental preparation for athletes: « You can look at skiing, golf, tennis, or horse riding, whatever you want, coaching is one of the most important aspects. Now, Formula 1 drivers are fit and have coaches to help them improve their physical condition, but not their mental capabilities. And I think that’s an absolute mistake. »

This mental preparation would be made even more effective thanks to the very precise telemetry elements provided by the engineers: « Today, telemetry is so clear that you can actually have someone by your side. If they listen to what the coach might tell them, they could see the difference. For example, Franz Klammer’s coach [editor’s note: a 70s skiing champion] was not a top-level skier, he wasn’t as fast as Franz, but he knew the techniques and was aware of the emotional issues related to what he had to do and how he had to pull himself together before leaving, in a descent. » concludes Stewart.