Speed and efficiency of communication form the foundation of success in a sport like Formula 1. Back in 2017, England’s Rugby Coach Eddie Jones visited the Force India F1 Team (now Aston Martin) to get insights into how the team performed at the peak of motor racing, especially in terms of their communications prowess.
However, as their former head of strategy Bernie Collins revealed, an unfortunate incident during his visit caused an embarrassing moment for the entire Silverstone-based squad. Jones was in attendance during qualifying for the 2017 British GP when the team lost connection with Mission Control during Q1.
Collins revealed in her book ‘How to Win a Grand Prix‘ that all hell broke loose as the team had no contact at all with their base in the factory. She even explained that she had to manually count the cars as they crossed the pit straight to calculate where the team was in terms of their run plan.
“It had to happen, of course, when someone such as Eddie Jones was there to see how efficient and effective we were! The whole thing was made even more embarrassing because our factory was just beyond Silverstone’s main gate. It was the closest we would ever be to Mission Control during the season,” she revealed.
For an F1 team, Mission Control plays as much of a part as their trackside operations. There is a lot of data being relayed to the trackside team from the factory such as weather spotters, telemetry, and design data.
This entire incident, however, made Collins appreciate the IT team even more. As she explained, no one complimented them when things went right but they only caught the limelight in instances when things didn’t.
Collins praises F1’s unsung heroes
Collins also compared the IT team’s situation with other departments within a Formula 1 team. For instance, she documented her time working with McLaren’s gearbox unit and the running joke that had become prevalent back then.
Thank you, Bernie!
The #HungarianGP marks our Head of Race Strategy, Bernie Collins’ last race with the team.
An incredible teammate and a true inspiration to women in motorsport. She will be missed and we wish her the very best for the future.#WeClimbTogether pic.twitter.com/TpkJaQXaBK
— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 31, 2022
“When I worked on gearboxes with McLaren, we used to joke that nobody ever said a gearbox won a race or made the car fast. But you would hear reference to ‘the gearbox cost us points’ if the car retired due to an issue or failure,” she concluded.
She then reflected on her job as a strategist as well. According to her, when she used to get her job done efficiently, no one would commend or even notice her. But if there was an error on her part, the entire world would highlight her part in “losing a race that should have been won.”
