Ghost Lap: Anonymous writing from inside Formula One

[GhostLap]

Hi all,

Long-time PH reader and poster, new username for fairly obvious reasons.

Hopefully this sort of thing is acceptable in this section - it felt more appropriate here than in the motorsport forum itself.

I work in Formula One, in the factory rather than anything on TV - and after years of threatening to do it, I’ve finally started writing anonymously about what life inside the sport actually feels like.

Not the glamorous version. More the shift work, pressure, strange characters, politics and industrial absurdity behind it all.

It’s an ongoing writing project called Ghost Lap. More memoir/observational writing than motorsport journalism.

Only one piece published so far, but I thought a few people here might find it interesting. If I’ve managed to set my profile up properly the link should be in there.

Thanks

[coppice]

I review motorsport books for the US website speedreaders.info ; let me know when it is published and I'd be happy to review it.

[GhostLap]

coppice said:

I review motorsport books for the US website speedreaders.info ; let me know when it is published and I'd be happy to review it.

Very kind of you - thank you.

At the moment it’s just an ongoing anonymous writing project on Substack rather than a full book, but several people have already said it reads more like one than a newsletter, which I’ll take as a compliment.

If it eventually turns into something longer-form i’ll definitely keep that in mind.

Also, good to discover the speedreaders website!

Edited by GhostLap on Thursday 14th May 17:44

[bigmowley]

Well hurry up and post something then! The intro is a bit short.

[GhostLap]

bigmowley said:

Well hurry up and post something then! The intro is a bit short.

Fair point The first post was really just intended to set the scene a little and test the water.

The next one is already written and I’ll upload next week.

Thanks for reading!

[Mr Pointy]

Retirement home? It' s a bit rude to call Williams that.

[Red Sleeper]

bigmowley said:

Well hurry up and post something then! The intro is a bit short.

Indeed, wish I’d stumbled on this after a few more have been posted!

[Super Sonic]

I'm assuming the name on your profile isn't your real name.

[aterribleusername]

Sounds like my kind of thing so have subscribed so I get updates as you make them.

Is it going to be a bit like Marc Priestley's book (which was fun) or more gritty? Happy either way as I love hearing the unglamorous side of industries that seem like dream jobs but in reality are far from it!

[Skyedriver]

Just finished reading "Driven" by Susie Wolff
Worth a read about life in Motorsport.

[GhostLap]

Thanks to everyone who's following along.

Red Sleeper said:

Indeed, wish I d stumbled on this after a few more have been posted!

Post 2 is going out Tuesday, appreciate the patience.

Super Sonic said:

I'm assuming the name on your profile isn't your real name.

You'd be right to assume that.

aterribleusername said:

Sounds like my kind of thing so have subscribed so I get updates as you make them.

Is it going to be a bit like Marc Priestley's book (which was fun) or more gritty? Happy either way as I love hearing the unglamorous side of industries that seem like dream jobs but in reality are far from it!

Marc Priestley's book is great fun - probably captures the travelling circus side of Formula One better than most.

What I'm writing is more factory-focused. Less paddock glamour, more fluorescent lighting and strange people doing very precise work under slightly odd conditions.

The unglamorous side is exactly what I'm going for.. glad that's already coming through.

[GhostLap]

Skyedriver said:

Just finished reading "Driven" by Susie Wolff
Worth a read about life in Motorsport.

Haven't read that one - will add it to the list. Thanks for the recommendation!

[coppice]

I reviewed the Susie Wolff book for speedreaders . I found it interesting and well written (ISTR her brother helped her ) and thankfully did not gloss over her early career(when I saw her race in Formula Renault) at the expense of the F1 stuff.

[Red Sleeper]

You didn’t mention who today’s post was about so I’m going to take a guess with Mercedes?

[GhostLap]

Red Sleeper said:

You didn t mention who today s post was about so I m going to take a guess with Mercedes?

I would tell you, but I’m trying to keep the balance between “interesting stories” and “remaining employable”.

[Red Sleeper]

GhostLap said:

I would tell you, but I m trying to keep the balance between interesting stories and remaining employable .

Understood!

[Slyjoe]

I've just read your post this morning, having been in F1 for 20 years, I'm intrigued. I've never heard of any of the teams being mooted as a retirement home.
ChatGpt seems to suggest it's Aston, but my guess is Williams......

[GhostLap]

Slyjoe said:

I've just read your post this morning, having been in F1 for 20 years, I'm intrigued. I've never heard of any of the teams being mooted as a retirement home.
ChatGpt seems to suggest it's Aston, but my guess is Williams......

I wonder if our paths have crossed over the years.

It could be Aston, or Williams, Alpine, or McLaren?

For obvious reasons I won’t say which

[Slyjoe]

I can relate with your latest post, all the screens showing the action, but for us it's a bit of background hum, till something goes wrong.
Grosjeans crash had me in tears well before he jumped out of the fire, more tears when he was safe though.
We may have crossed paths at Alpine. I'm usually upstairs;.

[GhostLap]

That really was an uncomfortable watch. It’s the one time I actually went to the circuit with hand baggage, but had a bit of food poisoning so spent most of the time unwell in a hotel. I’m glad I wasn’t there to see it to be honest.

I quite enjoyed the Canadian GP, congrats on getting some more points, Alpine did well. I m interested to see if the rumoured sponsorship from Gucci comes to fruition.