Many of you know that I’m a big Formula 1 fan, and I’m coming up on my 3 year anniversary of following the sport. I don’t write about the day-to-day happenings within the season, but every now and then I’ll spot something interesting from the world of Formula 1 that is broadly applicable outside of the sport. It’s those ones that I like to share.
For this post, the important piece of context is that one of the teams, Mercedes, with famed driver, Lewis Hamilton, were world champions for a record breaking 8 years in a row. One of their tenets was a “no blame” culture. If they performed poorly, there was no internal or external criticism thrown at a single person. Rather they would look at the data and figure out how to improve for the next race. This philosophy become something they were known for, and their success was partly credited to this approach.
However, in what looks like the second season running, they’ve developed a poor car that is no longer a championship contender. And instead of sticking to their “no blame” culture, people across the team are publicly blaming one another. The outer turmoil is likely only a small reflection of the chaos happening internally.
People and teams show what they’re really made of in times of crisis and challenge. It’s all fine and good to have an admirable philosophy when you’re winning. But it’s when you’re in the pits that true character shines through.