George throwing his headrest made me cringe. F1 workers view
Discussion
I cringed when George Russell threw his headrest out of the car at the Canadian GP.
They're fiddly to make and given they're made from carbon and kevlar, surprisingly easy to damage as they're pretty thin. Someone in Brackley definitely winced when they saw it.
I do completely get why emotion takes over though, and the occasional unprofessional moment from a driver can be forgiven. When I started working in F1, I thought I would be held to some crazy professional standards, a bit like the drivers.
I don't think I'd ever been as nervous as when I was sat in the reception on my first day waiting to be collected, surrounded by trophies in glass cases.
I was sat there anxiously waiting to be taken in to the most professional, high functioning work force I'd ever seen, wondering how I'd ever live up to the standard these people operate at.
When the supervisor eventually collected me and dropped me off at the department I'd be working in, I saw some crazy stuff going on the other side of the doors. People climbing on tables, kicking off over the choice of radio station, nitrile gloves being launched everywhere like grenades.
The comparison between people doing such high precision work to exacting standards whilst secretly sticking a tail made of tape on to someone's back still absolutely fascinates me.
It definitely wasn't what I expected but in a good way and it helped massively with the pressure I was feeling to behave properly.
George Russell is human at the end of the day and we all have our moments - I genuinely dread to think of the comments if most F1 factory workers were televised in the same way.
With any luck, what I've just told you will reframe everything if you have ever wondered what working in an F1 factory would be like. Some people don't apply for jobs in the industry because of myths of strict and almost boring environments, but in my experience it's mostly anything but.
I've written about some of this in more detail if anyone's interested to read more (link in profile, sorry for the shameless plug). Writing anonymously under a pen name, for obvious reasons.
If anyone has any questions on what it's like working in an F1 factory, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer honestly without saying something that will get me sacked.
They're fiddly to make and given they're made from carbon and kevlar, surprisingly easy to damage as they're pretty thin. Someone in Brackley definitely winced when they saw it.
I do completely get why emotion takes over though, and the occasional unprofessional moment from a driver can be forgiven. When I started working in F1, I thought I would be held to some crazy professional standards, a bit like the drivers.
I don't think I'd ever been as nervous as when I was sat in the reception on my first day waiting to be collected, surrounded by trophies in glass cases.
I was sat there anxiously waiting to be taken in to the most professional, high functioning work force I'd ever seen, wondering how I'd ever live up to the standard these people operate at.
When the supervisor eventually collected me and dropped me off at the department I'd be working in, I saw some crazy stuff going on the other side of the doors. People climbing on tables, kicking off over the choice of radio station, nitrile gloves being launched everywhere like grenades.
The comparison between people doing such high precision work to exacting standards whilst secretly sticking a tail made of tape on to someone's back still absolutely fascinates me.
It definitely wasn't what I expected but in a good way and it helped massively with the pressure I was feeling to behave properly.
George Russell is human at the end of the day and we all have our moments - I genuinely dread to think of the comments if most F1 factory workers were televised in the same way.
With any luck, what I've just told you will reframe everything if you have ever wondered what working in an F1 factory would be like. Some people don't apply for jobs in the industry because of myths of strict and almost boring environments, but in my experience it's mostly anything but.
I've written about some of this in more detail if anyone's interested to read more (link in profile, sorry for the shameless plug). Writing anonymously under a pen name, for obvious reasons.
If anyone has any questions on what it's like working in an F1 factory, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer honestly without saying something that will get me sacked.
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