Oscar Piastri‘s race engineer Tom Stallard was once quite the athlete himself. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he won a silver medal for Great Britain in rowing, in the men’s eight category.
Today, he is a race engineer at one of F1’s most iconic teams, and during a conversation with Piastri, the former Olympian reveals how he transitioned into F1.
Piastri asked Stallard about the similarities between rowing and F1 and it turned out that there was a crossover. “In rowing there’s an expression about being greater than some of the parts, and I think that that is really true in motorsport,” he said.
“There’s only you in the car. But actually, the success comes from a really effective team that lands up being greater than potentially the individuals concerned, like the teamwork,” he added.
Rowing, especially the category Stallard competed in, requires immense teamwork, even if it appears to be a singular effort.
Similarly, the teamwork aspect in F1 is often overlooked. But it has been proven time and time again that without a strong team, drivers cannot succeed in F1.
F1 veterans Stallard has worked with
Stallard is currently Piastri’s race engineer. But he has worked with some other experienced drivers in the past too.
He was assigned as Jenson Button‘s race engineer after the Briton moved to McLaren in 2010, and together they won eight races. Then, he became Daniel Ricciardo‘s race engineer and was in his ears when the honey badger won the 2021 Italian GP.
Rowing Racing
Meet Oscar’s Race Engineer, Tom Stallard, another member of the team with a silverware collection. @Olympics #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/fR6brVCkmW
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 6, 2024
After Ricciardo left, Stallard joined hands with Piastri and it was the Melbourne-born driver who guided him to a 10th win as race-engineer. He won the Hungarian GP earlier this year, and with Piastri tipped to win more races in the coming months and years, there is a lot more they can achieve together.
