How to concentrate like an F1 driver

Not everyone needs the concentration level of a Formula 1 driver to get through their day. But everyone is subject to distraction. Pilot focusing techniques can help you stay focused and be more effective in all kinds of situations. Here’s advice from McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri, a sports psychologist and an attention expert.

Visualize important challenges in advance

Before each event, F1 drivers go through the circuit on a simulator and rehearse it mentally. So during the race, they concentrate on driving instead of wondering what awaits them around the next corner. “The assumption is that planning, practice and repetition make things more automatic,” says Robbie Anderson, a sports psychologist at Hintsa Performance in Finland, who works with several F1 drivers. Runners visualize options, then the most favorable option several times, until it becomes automatic.

Oscar Piastri, fourth in the driver standings this season – he has two victories to his name – says he spends a day in the simulator before each event “to get a fundamental idea of ​​what to do and where”.

Optimal visualization involves imagining the situation as realistically as possible, says Anderson. “You have to recreate key sensory information — the feeling of the steering wheel, the physical contact with the car. »

This technique also works for preparing for a presentation or a job interview: create a mental image of what you will see from a stage or when you are with your counterpart during the interview. You have to “represent a given situation in the first person singular,” explains Mr. Anderson.

Talk about it with yourself

Robbie Anderson advises drivers to talk to themselves in their heads during the race, by giving themselves instructions (“Come out of the corner smoothly”), motivating themselves (“Go!”), reciting their mantra or remembering a detail before a given turn (“take a breath”).

“Without this voluntary, directed self-talk, the brain falls back on the default inner voice, which is not always helpful,” notes Anderson. Negative instructions (“Don’t put it in the wall” or “Don’t squeeze the curve too much”) are particularly harmful, because they put in your mind the thing you want to avoid. “If you think, ‘Don’t think about a pink elephant,’ it’s already there,” says Robbie Anderson.

Pre-race mental rehearsals are similar to “mindfulness,” a technique that leads to improved attention, executive control and cognitive flexibility. Meditation practitioners learn to refocus their attention on their breathing; similarly, F1 drivers train themselves to stay focused on all aspects of the race: “As soon as their attention drifts, they bring it back,” explains Daniel Smilek, professor of psychology at the Vision and Attention Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.

Prepare for the unexpected

Racing is “full of things you can’t control,” says Oscar Piastri. “The performance of the car, the pit stops, the weather, what the others are doing on the track; accepting that we don’t have control over all of this is important. »

A pilot must anticipate times when his brain might go into overdrive – that is, slip into a reactive emotional state – and find ways to control himself, Anderson points out.

So, getting cut can trigger anger. “When the adrenaline is pumping, you are more likely to make a mistake. » To quickly get back into control mode, the driver can say to himself: “It happened, it’s part of F1. » This advice is good for everyone at work, while playing sports or in a traffic jam.

Change the focus without losing focus

Au 40^e or at 50^e lap of the same track, there is a risk of leaving the “zone”. “You can easily start thinking about anything,” says Oscar Piastri.

Neurologically, the brain seems to need distractions, says Smilek. “It may be that the system is set up to prevent something from obsessing us, as a working mechanism to keep us from getting stuck in ruts. » Momentarily diverting attention from your main task to “check” on a secondary task can break the monotony and extend your concentration, he says.

F1 drivers don’t just look at the track in front of them statically. They also turn their attention successively to the performance of their car, the evolution of the track conditions and radio communications. Likewise, during a long meeting, you can shift your attention away from the person speaking to take notes or assess the reactions of other participants.

“The trick is to find the variability in the task you’re doing, and then alternate your attention between different facets of the task,” says Smilek.

Find the “zone”

Drivers often talk about the “zone”, a state of grace that they reach during a race when their attention is sustained for a very long period and it seems to be effortless. “One of the main factors that leads to this state is intrinsic motivation,” says Smilek. “If you are intrinsically motivated to complete a task, you are much more likely to be able to sustain your attention on that task, and it will feel effortless for a longer period of time. »

If you really need to focus, it can be helpful to ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” » When organizing your garage, for example, think about all the ways you’ll use the reclaimed space. These moments of flow are rewarding in themselves, says Smilek. They provide a feeling of satisfaction and thus “perpetuate the cycle”.

Don’t forget to recharge your batteries

Robbie Anderson’s work with drivers occurs in four phases: pre-race, race day, race review and recharge. It’s the same four-step framework he follows with his business-owner clients. “Everyone wants to do parts one, two and three,” he says. The crucial recharge phase is often neglected.

Research shows that breaks improve attention and learning. For what ? It’s simple: they reduce stress. “Stress has detrimental effects on the brain, particularly on the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in controlling attention,” says Smilek.

Although being fast and “doing things right technically” are essential to winning, Oscar Piastri believes the mental aspect provides an advantage. “When the stakes are high, or when things are going badly, mental resilience makes a big difference. »

This article was published in the New York Times.

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