Marc Priestley emerged as the face of the people who often remained in the shadows of Formula 1 but were always integral. Never credited enough for a win, but one error by them is enough to strip someone’s lifelong dream of being a Grand Prix winner, or worse, a championship victory away. They are the fine line between fans’ melancholy and rejoicing when they utter ‘OH DAMN!’ In his 10 years at McLaren, he has seen it all.
Most people are familiar with Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the show that made F1 so popular over the last few years. There, the cameras love to focus on the gigantic crew sitting on the chairs when something dramatic or exciting happens out on the track. But hardly do their names ever pop up. However, Priestley is different. Thanks to his skills with words, he wrote his story, which could be co-related by anyone working in the same field as him.
The anecdotes on the drivers he worked with, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, and David Coulthard, gave the fans a unique insight into the life of an F1 team member. But it’s been long since he wrote his book, 15 years since he left the paddock, and now he is way forward in his life. Today, rather than playing with nuts and bolts, he is performing in front of a camera with a mic always around him.
Always with F1
He may have left F1, but F1 never left him. Impressively, Marc Priestley uses his learnings from the pinnacle of motorsport in his current work life. Although, he admitted that he is involved in a “different number of things”, half of his time is spent in elite performance training where he collaborates with different companies around the globe and aids them in enhancing their skills to a higher level.
“I kind of created this model, which I use at organizations, where no matter what challenges those organizations might be facing. No matter which area they want to improve. There is a way Formula 1 can teach them to do that. So, everything from finance, teamwork, marginal gains. I got ways linking that with F1,” explained Priestley, in conversation with The Sportsrush.
In F1, seeking absolute perfection every time is the deal for any pit crew member. The former McLaren man further adds that his lengthy stint in F1 doing the same thing under constant competitive pressure, those countless pitstops made him realize that the learnings can be applied outside the little world of gasoline and rubber.
A rendezvous with a camera
Priestley in his book, ‘The Mechanic’, and even during a conversation with us admitted that his parents were keen on him taking up either something related to English or media studies- a more traditional route of academics. He, however, decided to try his trade in F1 because that is where his passion lies. However, after a lengthy spell in the sport, he found himself in the broadcasting world.
He interviewed Nico Rosberg, four days after the former F1 star won the world championship, and a day before he surprisingly retired. And to date, he claims, that there were no signs that Rosberg was contemplating retirement, to him or anyone else.
His Rosberg interview was in 2016, but Priestley still finds himself in front of a camera regularly. He is currently doing a car show named Wheelers Dealers. If that’s not enough, he has his podcast, Pitlane Life Lessons F1 podcast. For Priestley, things can’t get better. If Formula 1 was his ultimate dream, his current life is him living a series of other dreams.
“I love doing broadcasting; I love doing the car show. I love traveling the globe, speaking to organizations, and speaking to other elite performance experts,” said Priestley. For him, he is reaping the rewards for all the hard work he did to enter the world of motorsports in his early 20s. And because of that, nothing is ever taken for granted.
It’s not for everybody
Reminiscing his past, Marc Priestley believes F1 is an incredible sport and one of the best places to be. It asks for personal sacrifice when you are a part of the contingent that flies all over the world for 10 months in a year. One day you could be idolizing that amazing F1 driver and the next day, if you are accepted soon enough, you might be chilling with them. But it’s a trade with the devil and he accepts “It’s not for everybody.”
When asked about his sacrifices, he revealed, “You’ll start to lose touch with people back home. Relationships back home will be strange. You’ll start to lose touch. Eventually, what happens is they stop inviting you on Sunday afternoons.”
The sparkle in his eyes suggests that he wouldn’t trade that feeling for any other life. But he warns that one should only take this path if they are willing to make these sacrifices. The sport asks for that commitment, and one can’t relish it if the heart does not deliver at that elite level week in and week out.
Never say never
Priestley, several times during our conversation reiterated that he loves his present life. But when asked about a possible return to Formula 1, he never dismissed it. For him, it was “never say never.”
However, things have changed. His dream at the turn of the millennium was to be at McLaren, rather than in fact, any F1 team. Now, his goals are different. Priestley wants to enrich others with his privileged experiences in the sport, which honestly, he is currently doing.
Life is not less hectic for him these days when compared to his F1 stint 15 years ago. He joined us at 6 am EST, for an online call, as he was in Miami, all braced up for a long day ahead. And we couldn’t be more thankful to him for his undying dedication to the sport.
This conversation between two avid and passionate F1 fans could have gone for hours. It was an honor to listen to someone who has given so much to the sport we love. Unfortunately, commitment to life came in the middle of the spirited discussion, but that’s the beauty of our sport. After every Grand Prix, the roar of the engines comes back to the same spot. With the same hope, we had to say au revoir to Mr. Priestley.
