Image: McLaren Content Pool
Formula 1 (F1) has exploded over the past few years. This is likely down to the smash-hit success of the Top Gun-esque F1 movie (the soundtrack to which makes a killer erg playlist), the continued success of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, and the exciting three-way title battle still playing out between Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris.
Any similarities between motorsport and rowing may seem surface-level at first: athletes in both must steer a fragile, aerodynamic craft along sensitive racing lines, in careful balance with the elements. However, there is perhaps more that rowers can learn from F1 than meets the eye.
From Olympic rower to F1 engineer
There is one clear human connection between the two sports, which takes the form of McLaren race engineer and Olympic rower Tom Stallard.
After achieving gold in the coxed four at the 2007 World Championships, and Olympic silver in the men’s eight at Beijing 2008, he deftly made the switch to F1 as a simulator test engineer. He is now both the race engineer to Oscar Piastri (currently second in the World Driver’s Championship standings after leading it over the summer) and the Director of Human Performance overseeing the efforts of the whole McLaren team. Given that no forms of motorsport are featured in the Olympics, Stallard has a unique perspective, having experienced both kinds of sport at their highest level.
In an appearance on the Beyond the Grid podcast in October 2024, Stallard discussed how his former career as a rower has helped him in his current one in motorsport.
Having stood on the podium alongside Piastri at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he described the feeling as “very very similar” to that which he felt representing his country on the Olympic podium.
One of the major talking points of this year’s season has been the intra-team competition between the McLaren drivers. Stallard said that, despite rowing being more of a “training sport” than the relentless pace of the Formula 1 calendar allows, going into the last Grand Prix level on championship points (a “once in a career” experience) provides the same kind of pressure as the years spent preparing for the Olympic Games.
He also explained that building strong teams was one of his skills as a rower – a good sign when intra-team competition for the driver’s championship is liable to split the team into “sides of the garage”, as notoriously had to be managed in the epic Hamilton/Rosberg championship battle of 2016.
During his time as a rower, Stallard worked with the Olympic coach Jürgen Gröbler, whose perspective he said he continued to value since changing careers.
Interestingly, he credits Gröbler’s attitude of valuing every medal equally, no matter the category.
The rower said: “If he felt that the gold medal would come more readily in the coxless four [than the pair], he would switch, and the whole team would be turned on its head. […] I think it takes a lot of strength to take that sentimentality out of it. If you set yourself a target, humans tend to think, ‘I want to achieve that target.’”
He agrees with Tom Clarkson (the host of Beyond the Grid) that this unsentimental approach is similar to that of McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella, who led the team to victory in the constructor’s championship this year and last. However, I’d argue it’s also demonstrated by the current F1 world champion, Max Verstappen, who has often commented that his successive championships are “a bonus” after achieving his goal of winning one. This perhaps highlights the importance of adaptability in an elite athlete’s mentality, as well as the “blind determination” that Stallard credits with his success in both fields.
A sport built on relationships
Though the above tells us what someone working at the top of F1 has learned from rowing, perhaps the best example of what rowers can learn from F1 is shown by the relationship between a driver and their race engineer.
As Oscar Piastri’s race engineer, Stallard describes himself as “the translator between the technical department and the driver”. In practical terms, this involves communicating with Piastri via radio throughout the race, updating him on strategy and being “the voice inside the driver’s mind”.
For rowers, this evokes the role of a cox with respect to their crew. The cox’s role is both practical and motivational, and they often serve as an intermediary voice between the coach and the crew. They are the “voice in the athlete’s head” for the duration of the race.
Probably the most talked about race engineer-driver pairing is that of Gianpiero ‘GP’ Lambiase and Max Verstappen. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Lambiase evocatively described his role during a race weekend as Verstappen’s “sports psychologist, best friend, worst enemy, everything.” I’m sure many rowers can identify these characters within their own cox, whether the moment for them was knuckling down with 500m to go or winning a national event.
Keeping the team singing from the same hymn sheet
Maintaining team relations, as Stallard touched on, is also a key element of both roles.
At the recent Brazilian Grand Prix, a downturn in car performance led to a frustrated exchange between Lambiase and his driver as they were eliminated early in qualifying. However, after an incredible overnight turnaround of the car’s setup, Verstappen masterfully finished the race in third after starting from the pit lane.
Lambiase was quick to smooth things over, saying “[I] can only apologise for yesterday mate. This was a race-winning drive. Sorry.”
Verstappen’s own response was similarly sympathetic: “Nah, don’t be. That was a really, really good race for us. We at least try, you know. Thank you very much for today, that went really well.”
Red Bull Racing’s recovery performance in Brazil can be seen as a lesson to anyone working in team sport. The messages above show not only the success of the relationship between the engineer and the driver, but the team as a whole. Both parties acknowledge the other’s role in their performance.
Some final thoughts
With a sport like rowing, which is similarly reliant on the elements, tiny margins of time, and the relationship of the cox and rowers, this is an even more impressive blueprint.
Examining F1 suggests that the impetus for maintaining team morale should not be solely on the cox’s shoulders, but rather be facilitated by the rest of the crew.
Of course, there are essential differences between the two sports. But, despite these, it seems clear to me that rowing and F1 have the same core attitude to excellence, being one of faultless teamwork and relentlessly pursuing a crucial fraction more speed.
Photo credit: Jonathan Borba, Pexels
