But his performance also showed great flexibility. Let’s not forget the car has evolved a lot since he last drove it in Silverstone, and he had zero time to get a feel for these changes before he had to go out on track for qualifying. Additionally, Nico took ownership of the situation, being realistic after […]
Ability versus Mindset
This post isn’t about comparing Lewis and Valtteri’s skills, or discussing whether Valtteri can beat Lewis on merit. This post is about resilience. Because if there is one thing you need in order to race at the highest level, it is the unwavering conviction that you can be a champion. Otherwise, you may as well […]
The King of Adaptation
Being able to adapt to these changing conditions is what separates the boys from the men. Daniel Ricciardo certainly made the most of it and got very close to a podium (and Cyril Abiteboul to a tattoo), but the absolute king of adaptation was Lewis Hamilton. Of course he drives the fastest, most reliable car […]
Claire Williams Steps Down 2020
From a behavioral perspective, it will be fascinating to see what this will do to the dynamics within the team. Change leads to unpredictability, and unpredictability triggers a stress response. If the team is able to frame this change and subsequent unpredictability as a challenge (instead of a threat), the stress response may push them […]
Red Bull Racing’s Mechanical Miracle
This is why I turned to F1 to learn about creating a culture of change. Instead of letting stress incapacitate them, these guys used it to defeat expectations and get the car ready to rock with seconds left on the clock. The first thing Max did after finishing was thank his team, and rightfully so. […]
70th Anniversary GP Silverstone 2020
This week’s word is: courage. One of the skills I’ve been studying as part of the skill set of the 21st century work floor. Red Bull Racing deciding to put on hard tyres for Q2 was bold, and based on what was known about tyre performance, could possibly cost them dearly. It is a great […]
Perspective Taking
Max is in a car, going 250+ km/h. Only he can feel how the car is behaving on the track. Gianpiero Lambiase, Max’s race engineer at Red Bull Racing knows this. He also knows Max’s adrenalin levels are up the wazoo, and Max is a winner. About as competitive as they come. So this post […]
Black Lives Matter Needs White People
If there is one thing we know about the brain, then it is that it finds change very difficult. Established patterns are hard to break, opinions and convictions are hard to change. Two specific biases play a large role here. A bias is a subjective way of information processing that prevents us from acting based […]
#BlackLivesMatter
I got away from that situation by standing up for myself. First physically, when I realized that the boys bullying me after school were actually only half my size. Then academically. By excelling in my studies, and letting their ignorance fuel my determination. So being a biracial woman hasn’t always been easy. And institutional racism […]
Maintaining a Healthy Work-Life Balance During Challenging Times
Accept that you will be less productive. A lot of people are having a very hard time with this. That’s understandable because let’s face it: if you have a full-time job and school-aged kids, you’re going through something right now. The same goes for people not used to working from home, or not accustomed to […]