Melbourne is playing host to the F1 Australian Grand Prix this weekend, and I’ve been hanging out with the Red Bull and Infiniti corporate hosting squad and getting some brief but interesting exposure to the racers. Here’s what Sebastian Vettel and Aussie Mark Webber, defending their current #1 and #2 rankings, had to say on the topic of motivation.
We met Webber after Saturday’s qualifying session, and he seemed remarkably calm for a man who had been belting around the track at close to 300km/h just an hour beforehand. I asked how he managed to stay focused for the main race on Sunday:
Tomorrow is the most important day; everything’s possible. This is what we enjoy doing; this is the real test of the team. This is what it’s our job to do.
Asked if any of the mechanical team of 22 were “utterly obsessed”, Webber noted the need to strike a balance between passion and obsession:
They have families and they have a life as well, but when it comes to cars, they know what they have to do.
Vettel, meanwhile, emphasised the importance of not resting on the laurels of past victories:
I don’t go into the car saying ‘I’ve won here last year’; it was very nice and I would love to be in the same position, but you have to work for it.
While past achievements can be vital in giving you confidence, they’re no substitute for hard work. I’m writing this ahead of Sunday’s race, so we’ll see how well those strategies work for Webber and Vettel in practice.
Disclosure: Angus Kidman travelled to Melbourne as a guest of Infiniti.
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