Daniel Ricciardo spoke about the psychological aspects of motorsport, about how he tunes up before the start of the Grand Prix, how he maintains concentration during the race – all this he shared in an interview with the American business magazine Inc.
Q: How much do you prepare mentally for the race and how much physically?
Daniel Ricardo: I treat both. But since the preparation is mostly standard procedures, I don’t fully focus on it. At some races we may receive a guest from the team at the last minute, or someone else suddenly knocks on the door. It often happens that the preparation has to be interrupted.
That’s why I try to avoid the approach that can be formulated like this: “If I don’t do everything perfectly, I’ll get in trouble.” (laughs) But some things stay the same, for example you have to warm up, you have to put on headphones, listen to music, do breathing exercises. Then I enter into an internal dialogue with myself and coordinate.
Sure, sometimes something upsets me. We have a very tight schedule on race day. Although we usually have 45 minutes to prepare, and every minute on this day is very important. So I try not to worry. If I start to think I just wasted five minutes, it means I’m going to lose a little more time.
Q: Then let’s move on to the next question. There is a concept called “neutral thinking” which suggests that in any situation one should try to avoid getting too emotionally aroused as well as trying not to get too upset. How do you avoid excessive enthusiasm after a successful overtake and how not to get upset by mistakes in choosing tactics?
Daniel Ricardo: On the track, this is the hardest thing to do. After all, it’s not just about me. You think of every team member working on the track during these two hours of the race, when the thrills are off the charts. If the overtake succeeds, I praise myself mentally as it motivates and prepares to attack the next car.
If something goes wrong, everything is a bit more complicated and all you have to do is focus on the next turn. At such times, it is vital to maintain that same neutral attitude. The more you think about what happened, the more time you lose.
For example, there may be some sort of hitch at the pit stop. It’s unpleasant, but already in the past. It’s impossible to go back and fix anything. We can discuss that after the race. But it won’t help matters if you think about it now.
But I believe this approach will work in any other profession. It is necessary to focus on what is important now, and you can analyze the mistakes later.
Q: On the other hand, if you constantly think about how important it is to succeed, it can paralyze the will. Remember last year’s race at Monza: few expected McLaren to take the lead in the final stages. How did you manage to stay calm and focused?
Daniel Ricardo: It’s not that hard to contain the excitement. When I took the lead in the race eight years ago in Montreal, I felt some sort of abnormal pleasure, but I immediately pulled myself up: “I’m on my way to my first Formula 1 win! Try not to miss it.”
Since then I have developed confidence and confidence in myself. Then in Monza I didn’t think: “It would be nice if this race ended as soon as possible.” I was just thinking about not being in the lead in the Grand Prix for a long time, and I just wanted to enjoy this feeling. I wanted to prolong this state while everyone is trying to catch up with me.
Q: To start your cars with Lando Norris, hundreds of McLaren employees work hard, the team spends millions of dollars. And you are at the top of this pyramid. How do you get rid of the idea that if you have an accident in the first corner, it means that the efforts of all these people are wasted?
Daniel Ricardo: Again, it’s not just me. Each person’s work is important, only my work is clearly visible.
But as for me, even at the beginning of my career, I decided for myself: I will fight with all my might, fight aggressively to the end – this is better than being careful and never getting high results. If I have an accident—for example, I attempt a seizure, but it doesn’t work—then, although this is not the outcome I expected, my heart will be calm, because I’ve done everything in my flow.
However, it is the hardest at the start of the race. You don’t want to fly off the track, but if you’re too careful, you’ll get eaten. This is the case when psychological preparation is very important. At such times it is important to find the right balance between aggression and patience and it is necessary to act with the utmost discretion.
In the beginning, it is generally difficult to predict the development of events. I don’t even try to think of possible scenarios in advance. On the one hand I have gained some experience, on the other hand I sometimes just say to myself: “Let everything go as it is, I’ll respond to it, and then I’ll pretend I had a certain plan!” (laughs)
Q: At what point did you really believe in yourself and your strengths?
Daniel Ricardo: I first felt it in 2012, during my first full season in Formula 1. We were in Japan and I was fighting for 10th position with Michael Schumacher. 10th place doesn’t sound very impressive, but for our Toro Rosso team it was important.
When Michael caught up with me, I thought, “Oh no, not that!” But I managed to keep the defense on one lap, on two, then for three laps, then for four. And suddenly I thought: “Well, I can do anything!”
It was probably the first significant moment when I was able to resist the driver’s attack, which I admired, one of the greatest in Formula 1 history. Then he came up to me and said: “And you defended well.”
When I got this kind of recognition from Michael Schumacher himself, I thought, “Yeah, so I can do it.”
Q: What did your parents tell you when you were a young racer?
Daniel Ricardo: My father still says, “Do everything in your power.” He doesn’t say, “You’re the best.” He means you should try to have fun on the track because racing is what I do best. The thing is, you have to forget about all this hype and remember one thing: I’m only doing this because I really love racing.
My parents are very quiet people. They just want me to be happy, they know racing gives me a lot of fun. To be honest, they probably never believed I could win a Formula 1 race! (laughs)
So it’s not about money, it’s not about fame, it’s not about being on TV – it’s all a bonus. Parents just know that racing is fun for their son. However, this year my results are not up to my standards, they are below my level, so of course I am not happy. But if I do everything I can to show the maximum result, and I have fun doing it, then I will certainly succeed.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
