The high-performance factors
KUALA LUMPUR: Strong leadership, efficient team work, quick decision-making and a clear aim are among the factors required to deliver high performance at any Formula 1 (F1) race, said Grand Prix Motor Racing boss Mark Gallagher.
He was speaking in a session titled “Transformational Lessons: From the Fast Lane” at the Global Transformation Forum, here, yesterday.
As a high-technology sport, Gallagher said F1 required the teams to fully integrate their human and technical assets.
David Coulthard, the winner of 13 F1 Grand Prix, agreed that maintaining good relationships were key in any business.
“No matter how inclusive you are in life, for the most part we are social animals. We like the human touch.
“The key is people. Getting the right people (the right group of mechanics to build a car or undertake a pit stop, or of engineers to design a car) and letting them do their job without micromanaging,” he said.
Coulthard added that this was something the Formula 1 team should have to make it to the top in the sports.
Asked if the introduction of Formula E, a new F1-style robot motor racing series featuring driver-less, electric cars would affect the F1, Coulthard said he didn’t see it as a threat to the sport. “I think people still want to see that emotion; they want to see drivers racing.
Gallagher is part of the international motorsport industry. A co-owner of the Status Grand Prix team, he has made his name in the industry and established a long-standing career in F1, working alongside some of the most famous drivers, team owners and executives.
Coulthard joined the Williams F1 team as a test driver in 1993 and after competing in eight Grand Prix for the team in the 1994 season, he became a full-time F1 driver in 1995. That year, he won the Portuguese Grand Prix and finished third in the championship. After moving to McLaren, he achieved his new team’s first win in three seasons at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix.
Overall, he achieved 12 of his 13 Grand Prix wins and 51 of his 62 podium finishes with McLaren, and, after supporting teammate Mika Häkkinen to the drivers’ championship in 1998 and 1999, he finished runner-up to Michael Schumacher in 2001.