F1 | Jackie Stewart: “All drivers need the wisdom of a coach”

In these hours it seems that Ferrari has placed a mental coach alongside Vettel and Leclerc, a figure that could be uncomfortable above all because it would lead most people to think that the drivers are not as mentally resistant as their opponents, forgetting however that Hamilton and Bottas also have it at their disposal. The coach is present in every sport, especially individual ones such as skiing and tennis, and even in motorsport he can be very important, given that Formula 1 is indeed a team sport, but with its purely individual sides. In favor of mental coaches is Jackie Stewart, three-time world champion, who does not go into Ferrari details but goes more generally and explains the following.

“In my opinion he is a figure that is greatly lacking among top drivers – said Jackie Stewart to the French version of Motorsport.com. I don't understand, are drivers so smart that they don't need a coach? It's wrong! All pilots, even at the top of their game, would be helped by the wisdom and observations of this type of figure. Skiing, golf, tennis and in any other sport the coach is one of the most important things. Today Formula 1 drivers are physically at the top and have coaches who can help them with their fitness level, but not mentally, and I think that's a bad thing."

The three-time world champion also remembers his first steps in Formula 1 alongside great champions such as Graham Hill and Jim Clark: “I was eager to learn from others and I was lucky enough to talk to Jim Clark, the best driver I've ever raced with and we spent time together and I never stopped trying to learn anything from him and maybe I couldn't. to have a certain type of career without that knowledge. I also had Hill, Graham never refused to answer my questions, whether it was about set-up or anything regarding his riding, his braking points or how fast he was going. Telemetry today is clear, if riders listened to a coach they would see the difference. For example: Franz Klammer's (legendary Austrian skier) coach wasn't tall, he wasn't as fast as him, but he knew techniques and was able to solve problems, such as concentration before the start. Thinking that we are all intelligent enough to not need a coach is completely wrong, and it is even more important today because there is telemetry to talk about."