FORMULA 1: NEUROSCIENCE AND THE UNDEFINED
Like so many of us recently I have been captivated by the elegance and sheer heroicism of Formula 1.
For me, there is something wildly fascinating about a sport operating at the frontiers of existence from both a technological and sporting perspective. The high performance quality of everyone involved in the teams including the ownership, sponsorship, drivers, managers, and engineers represents a singularity in culture and sports today. There is a level of precision and rigor that is unmatched in our time, and I find myself going back to the images and video of the early days of Formula 1 for continual inspiration.
But what exactly from a neuroscientific perspective, allows these drivers to push the limits of consciousness, existence, and life itself day in and day out? According to Bernardi et al., (2014), “it’s not all in the car” (p. 1).
Bernardi (2014) writes further:
“Throughout the centuries, first by using animals (i.e., horses) and then by developing motor vehicles and airplanes, humans have been able to reach speeds and accelerations tens of times higher than those that we would otherwise encounter by moving around with our own “body machine.” In this regard, high-speed driving can be considered as a “para-physiological condition,” in which the brain is required to process motion and motor information in a much faster and more demanding way. Interestingly, recent evidence collected in various highly skilled populations, including elite athletes, suggests that the expertise subtending exceptional driving abilities, as those shown by Formula racing-car professional drivers, may be associated with specific changes in the morphological architecture of the brain”
“Relative to non-experienced drivers, professional drivers showed a more consistent recruitment of motor control and spatial navigation devoted areas, including premotor/motor cortex, striatum, anterior, and posterior cingulate cortex and retrosplenial cortex, precuneus, middle temporal cortex, and parahippocampus. Moreover, some of these brain regions, including the retrosplenial cortex, also had an increased gray matter density in professional car drivers” (p. 1).
Grey matter is defined as controlling information processing, motor control, sensory perception, cognitive functions, emotional regulation, neuroplasticity, and achieving homeostasis in the brain or a stable internal environment.
Formula 1 drivers at the top tier engage in a myriad of activities to train and engage their brains in preparation for race day. According to Bluestein (2024), Oscar Piastri, currently ranked number one in the world, prepares for a race by “spending over a day in the simulator” prior to the event.
Other techniques include positive mental imaging and positive self-talk, mindfulness training, shifting focus without breaking it, finding a flow state, and making time to rest, recharge, and recuperate (Bluestein, 2024, p. 1).
However, beneath the neuroscience there is something else that fascinates me as a psychotherapist that is undefinable within the internal architecture of the drivers themselves. That undefinable quality that makes certain drivers unparalleled. This is what we have traditionally called the heart of a champion.
In other words, when the odds are stacked against someone, what carries them through?
It’s this tenacity, resilience, undying spirit, and unconditionalness that captivates me. The heart of the champion and how to cultivate that and bring it forth as a psychotherapist working with clients across disciplines.
For more info on the neuroscience underpinning Formula 1 check out:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4227572/
For more info on how to train and focus like an F1 driver check out this article in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/well/mind/f1-focus-oscar-piastri.html
