F1 uncovered: A weekend behind the scenes with a team physio

Nothing is trivial in Formula 1 – literally every aspect of a team’s activities is geared towards performance and, given the rapid calendar expansion of recent years, the well-being of track personnel is now being given a great deal of attention. But while it’s a well-known fact that each driver has a personal physiotherapist, few people realise that the professionals who look after the physical – and often mental – well-being of the team’s mechanics have long been among the most important members of F1 teams. 

At Haas that role is filled by Faith Atack-Martin, a specialist with a background in football – she previously worked at Leeds United – who joined the team five years ago and has been helping the team’s mechanics do their job better ever since. Her remit is to make sure they stay fit and that nothing distracts them from their duties in the garage, whether it’s helping with injuries or making sure they stay hydrated. It’s her responsibility to oversee the choreography of each member of the team’s pitcrew, and she’s often the one the team staff can turn to for advice on almost anything, from setting up a personal training programme to nutrition. With a 24-race calendar, such a role has become increasingly important. 

Faith’s weekend at Spa was particularly challenging since the Belgian GP was the fifth race in a period of six weeks. By the start of the summer break not only had fatigue begun to take its toll, the number of injuries was mounting up. Here’s how she dealt with it. 

THURSDAY 

08.30 
Arrival at the track 

“Every day I start with a little walk around the garage, making sure I’ve seen everyone, said good morning and checked that nobody has any pressing issues. Spa is the last race before the summer break: we’re at a bit of a crescendo point – with five races in six weeks – where we typically see more injuries than usual, and most of them have to
do with general fatigue. 

“The lower back is always an issue. Repetitive strain injuries to the wrists are another fairly common thing, and they certainly come up more at this time of year. When we arrived in Belgium we had a number of mechanics with different injuries, one of which is a potential bulging disc, which makes the mechanic’s movement more difficult, so we’ve had to change his duties on the car.” 
  
12.30 
Pitstop meeting 

“Pitstops are a big part of my job. Every Thursday we have a meeting with our team manager Pete [Crolla], number one mechanic Toby [Brown] and strategy engineer Faissal [Fdil] to plan the week in terms of pitstops.  

“Sometimes I’ll pull out examples of what I want to feed back to the team during our usual Friday talk. One of the guys had some problems with an upper limb the previous weekend – so this needed to be highlighted with some solutions identified. I needed to give some background on what was happening and how it was affecting his work. 

“We also had to make some changes to the mechanics’ pitstop positions, which was the first time this year. It’s partly to do with injuries and partly because we have some guys leaving after this race and new guys coming in. So the practice sessions at Spa were a bit different in terms of the crew.” 

Faith Atack-Martin debriefs with the Haas mechanics for feedback and planning

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

14.00 
Treatments 

“There’s no hard and fast rule about when I do treatments but, when I see people in the morning, I’ll make a plan of when I might see those with injuries during the day. It’s often dictated by their schedule and I’m sort of at their mercy. 

“But then, usually between lunch and pitstop practice, they come and see me in the truck and it’s a good environment to assess them and get an up-to-date version of where they are. It’s all logged into a system – so we have medical notes and clinical records of what’s been done. 

“I use a mixture of massage, mobilisation, manipulation and exercise rehab and it’s all based clinically on what I’ve assessed and what I’ve identified as a problem list with the person. That then determines what I do with them. 

“In between, I also made sure that the guys in the garage had all their water bottles filled. It’s a very simple, basic thing – filling water bottles doesn’t sound like much – but sometimes they just can’t leave the car. It’s less critical at Spa, but the week before in Hungary, for example, when we were battling with the temperatures, they needed to drink more – and I always have to make sure they stay hydrated and get their electrolytes.” 

18.30 
Pitstop practice 

“Thursday evening is our first pitstop practice of the weekend.
The scenarios are decided during the meeting before, but we start with more different ones on Thursday and then usually do
fewer stops as the week goes on. 

“This Thursday we did 12 runs. We practiced a double stack, a couple of nose changes, and we also did a procedure for the potential of a wet qualifying scenario. With rain expected on Saturday, it was particularly important to go through these procedures in practice.” 

19.30 
Track run 

“Then we had an hour for exercise. Many members of the team run
the track regularly. 

“Part of my morning was organising the transfer for those who wanted to run the track in the evening, and then I walked the track with a few people who just wanted to decompress for the day.” 

The Haas mechanics put through their paces with some pitstop practice

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

FRIDAY 

06.15 
Training session 

“In the morning we did a Tabata session in the hotel. I try to give them as much support as they need and provide them with opportunities. We don’t force it: it’s up to them to come and get it, but they have to know that it’s there. So if they want to do a session in the morning to build your strength – that’s on. If they want a one-to-one session with me in a gym in the evening, we book it. There’s almost no limit to what we can do. If they want a specific nutritional programme, we work with our nutritionist Dr Dan Martin and they can get a personalised plan. Similarly, our dedicated strength and conditioning coach, Andy Woolfenden, will provide remote programmes and training at the factory. Most people use some aspects of it. At this time of year we have to prioritise recovery and sleep hours – and Fridays are always very long days. Still, if someone wants a session in the morning, we do it. 

“Once we’ve arrived and had breakfast, I check on everyone, especially guys who have ongoing problems. I prioritise seeing them first and again check how we can fit the treatment into their schedule.” 

12.00 
Team talk 

“Before the pitstop practice on Friday, we get the whole crew together for a team talk. It basically provides two things. One is information. So it’s a feedback session and a planning session. But it’s also a chance to get the crew together and deliver a shared address. In a team culture, any kind of shared address, whatever it’s about, gives people a sense of togetherness and that’s something that wasn’t happening before and something I wanted to implement. I think it certainly tries to empower them and give them a sense of ownership of their part of the job, particularly the pitstops. 

“This week the conversation was split into three parts. The first bit was feedback from the last couple of events, as we also talked about adaptability. At Silverstone, we had a good example of that – where the car didn’t stop in the box in the optimal way, but they still made a safe and clean stop. So with that example, I tried to pick out all the positives. Obviously there are times when you need to highlight the negatives, but again we try to do it in a more ‘this is the solution’ way rather than ‘you did this wrong’ manner. Often we’ll pick examples of where the guys might have made a mistake – and talk about how we could do better. But I always make sure the guys are happy to be put in that spot, and I’d never do it without them knowing that it’s coming up. 

“The second part was a bit of a wrap-up before the summer break, summarising all the stops we’ve done so far this year and where we are. Overall, we’re about 0.25s quicker than last year, which isn’t a huge amount, but it’s a steady improvement and a sign that we’re getting there. I think it’s no secret that our equipment is not the most advanced across the pitlane but, with a stable crew and a bit more organisation around practice, we’re making progress. And one of the things I wanted to highlight is that we haven’t had any stops over five or six seconds – and that was a good thing to share. I think all those little things that we do add up, so you can actually see it now in the numbers and in the reduction of errors. 

“Then the last part was to acknowledge that the summer break is coming up and to give them some strategies on – as crazy as it sounds – how to relax and recover. We’ve got four big trips for the rest of the year with back-to-backs and triple-headers. So it’s important that they get some good rest and recovery over the break.” 

12.30 
Pitstop practice  

“As we had a few changes within the crew, we used this session to try out new roles for a couple of guys. They each did half of the session in the positions we thought would be good for them. So we’ve got a good amount of data to analyse later, including comparisons with the guys who have done those roles before. 

“After practice we found time to sit down with both of them and go through the footage and the numbers. They’ve had a bit of experience in the past in different formulas doing the same job, but obviously, it’s not the same. The tyres are heavier and the pressure is different. When we choose people for each position, we take into account not only the physical aspect, but also their temperament, how they deal with pressure and even how they get on with the other members of the crew. If we’re talking about one of the corners, for example, the synergy between the wheel-off and wheel-on guys and the gunman is really important.”

A range of factors decide how an F1 team's pitstop crew is organised

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

13.30 
Free practice 1 

“I’m in the garage during the session, making sure everyone has what they need and that their water bottles are filled. I have a pretty good idea of what everyone likes now. When we’re in places like Singapore, where it’s super-hot and humid, hydration is crucial. On weekends like that, I’ll keep a spreadsheet of who’s had what in their bottle, so we can continue to manage the balance between electrolytes and water. 

“During the gap between FP1 and FP2 I’ll usually do treatments. But again, it depends on their ability to take some time off the car.” 

17.00 
Free practice 2 

“Normally, at the end of each session, when the car comes in, we always take the opportunity to do a tyre change – because that’s the only time the guys can really practice properly. In our regular stop practice, the car is pushed in – whereas when it comes in live, it’s more of a real representation of what they’ll face in the race. 

“After each session, I sat down with the guys who were new to the positions and went through the practice footage again. We’ve got five cameras in our setup and we went through it from the corners where they were both in new roles. 

“Then there are a few hours before the curfew. It’s a good time to manage my treatment notes. I still come back to the garage and have a bit of a presence to make sure everyone’s OK. That is very important, especially at this time of year when people have spent so much time on the road and in close quarters. Sometimes it’s important for them to take five and have a chat. I don’t offer counselling because I’m not a psychiatrist, but sometimes it’s important to listen and show that you care and anything I can offer that makes them feel a little bit better – I’ll do that. 

“The guys covered the car at 9pm and went out for a late dinner.” 

SATURDAY 

12.30 
Free practice 3 

“In FP3 we were back with the original crew, so the pitstops at the end of the sessions went pretty well, which you’d expect because it’s the main crew, so that was a reassuring moment. 

Atack-Martin also covers pitstop procedure and coordination to make sure the team is efficient and safe

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

“One of the things I look at in all the sessions is how the guys come out of the garage for the stops, as it gives me an idea of how they’re going to do it in the race. I want to make sure there are no obvious things or other people getting in the way. The setup is usually similar, but often depends on the garage layout. From FP1 onwards I’m looking for signs of overlap between the guys’ paths – and if there’s anything obvious, we’ll highlight it early on so that everything runs smoothly on Sunday.”  

14.00 
Treatments 

“Between FP3 and qualifying, I treated the tyre guys. We have two mechanics who are responsible for making sure we have the right tyres in the garage. It’s a very physical job and qualifying is probably their most active and physically demanding part of the week, because if it’s a dry session, for example, there are a lot of tyre sets going on and off the car – and that means a lot of work. 

“They’ve had some soft tissue work and some mobility work on their backs and shoulders, just to make sure they’re in optimum condition for qualifying and then the other two treatments were some ongoing injuries we’re dealing with. 

“It’s my fifth year with the team and I think over the years I’ve been here there’s been a lot more trust – and they’ve got into the habit of asking for help or assistance. 

“Understandably, the mechanics weren’t familiar with the role of a physiotherapist, so it took time for them to get used to it. In football, players are used to having a physio from the age of eight or nine in academies. It’s a role that’s a constant in their lives and they know what the person brings to them and there’s no barrier to accessing their skills. Whereas when I started here, almost nobody felt like they wanted to ask me anything because they didn’t want to bother me. Everybody kind of self-diagnosed themselves as ‘oh yeah, I’ve got this problem, but it’s OK, I’ll just carry on’. That’s fine up to a point but when you’re asked to do this job, which is so physical, with 24 races a year and all the travel involved, the role of sports science becomes a lot more important. As soon as that resonates with people and they know you’re there because you care for them, they’ll let you take care of them.”  

It isn't just the F1 cars which undergo regular repairs

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

16.00 
Qualifying 

“Then in qualifying, because of the changeable weather conditions, we were able to do some procedures we don’t always get the chance to do. We’ve done a lot of practice this year to make sure that operationally everyone knows what to do in situations where the car has to stay in the box for a while until there’s a better window on track in terms of conditions and position – and we haven’t really had a situation where we’ve had to do that until this Saturday at Spa. 

“So, operationally everything
went well.” 

17.30 
Pitstop analysis 

“Then it was quite busy in the afternoon because at this point in the weekend, we have quite a lot of footage to do the pitstop analysis of the corner groups. So on Saturday afternoon I usually sit down with some of the corner crews and just see if there’s anything that needs to be discussed and this time there was a lot of discussion because we used guys who aren’t usually in the pit crew. So there was a lot of feedback for them.”  

SUNDAY

12.30 
Warm-up 

“Every time we do a pitstop practice, we start with a warm-up. It’s changed a lot over the seasons I’ve run it. Originally I brought in what I knew from football, which is more of a dynamic exercise to get your heart rate up. But I’ve learnt that race team mechanics don’t need that! What we need here is to actually calm everything down. Normally they’re coming off their tools, there’s pressure because they’ve got to get the car ready for the race – so the warm-up has now become a time to put some space between being a mechanic and being a pitcrew member. 

“We used to do it in the pitlane. But they didn’t like it because they were in full view of the public and they felt a bit like puppets on show – so we’ve moved it back to the garage now. It’s calmer, it’s quieter. 

“There’s a lot of stretching mixed in with a bit of breathing work, which some guys just don’t buy! But some do. At the end, when we do our final stretch, I’ll just say ‘take a few deep breaths’ – because again, I want them to focus and bring their energy down a bit so that when they go out, it’s not frantic, it’s calm. We can see in the data that they do better when things are calmer.” 

A pre-race warm-up often involves in calming everything down

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

12.55 
Final pitstop practice 

“On Sunday mornings we always do a fairly limited number of stops, no scenarios, just a few normal stops, so we can get into a flow. That’s obviously always with the crew that is going to be performing pitstops in the race itself – and always finishing on a clean, safe and fast stop so that you end on a good note with confidence.”  

15.00 
Race 

“As soon as the grid is open and the cars go out, we start setting up the garage for the race. This involves arranging the chairs according to where each member of the crew will sit. The aim of the seating arrangement is to make it easier when it’s time for a pitstop, so that the guys can come out of the garage as smoothly as possible. In the morning I print out a plan of
what it looks like. Then I make sure that on each seat there’s the helmet of the person who’s sitting in that seat and also their water bottle, again, so that when they come back from the grid
they’ve got everything ready and they can be on standby in case of
a very early pitstop. 

“The pitstops during the race were safe and clean. That’s all we could have asked for from the crew this week. That’s because we had several members of the team who were in different positions – so the guys weren’t doing their fastest stops or they weren’t really anywhere near their full capacity – but basically what we needed from a strategic point of view were safe, clean stops and they were within the time that the strategy engineer used to plan. As long as it’s not
over that time, that’s our target.” 

17.00 
Packing up 

“When the race is over, the job basically starts with packing up the garage – and everybody is involved in that process. My job in particular is to make sure that all the bottles and chairs are collected and all the kit is put away. So the guys get out of their race suits and put them in the laundry. Then I make sure all the helmet boxes have all the helmets in them before they’re locked away. The bottles get washed and everything gets packed away for wherever we’re going next.

“On this particular occasion in Spa I left early. We were catching the earliest flight out, so getting to the airport when you leave the track with all the traffic can be a bit of a nightmare – and in this case it was, but we managed to get a police escort out there! It was a bit stressful, but we managed to get there on time.” 

Atack-Martin is also involved in the post-race pack up which is when the next race preparations begin

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images