Jackie Stewart thinks that F1 drivers need better training before getting behind the wheel of an F1 car, mainly through driving coaches."One of the weaknesses we have in F1 is the lack of training we have," Stewart said. "This is the only sport that I can think of that doesn't have coaching - at Wimbledon just now, coaches are coming out of their ears. And for sure it makes a difference. You have football coaches, you have rugby coaches, you have cricket coaches, and you have golf coaches.
"Tiger Woods wouldn't walk 10 metres without his coach, in terms of how that swing has to be repeatedly put into his head � is it too fast, too slow, the wrong muscular movement? Yet racing drivers claim they don't need any help at all."
"And when you suggest that they might benefit from it, there is a resistance. I don't understand that. They seem to think once you get into that zone that they race above it and don't need it � and they also wonder how is it going to make a difference?"
Stewart's comments were drawn from comments that F1 driver Lewis Hamilton made to the English Newspaper The Daily Mail.
"I'm in a unique position," said Hamilton. "Nobody has felt exactly the same things as I've felt. The only person I really take advice from is my Dad (Anthony). He's great. He says the right things. He's guided me the whole way through my career. So if I have any questions, I ask him."Like on how to handle a expensive and borrowed Porsche on local streets.
"I don't doubt his motives. And I'm old enough to know whether to take his advice and also when to make my own decisions."
Like on whether to obey that red light at the end of pit lane or not.
"Whenever I speak to Damon or Jackie I do take what they say on board, but I'm not going to go searching them out and ask how I can be world champion. I want to do it on my own. I got to where I am on my own, with my family."
Good luck on that strategy, Lewis.
"I think one of the biggest and most important elements is communication, and I don't think there is enough communication going on," he explained. "For example, the accident in Montreal � how did that happen? That happened because there was so much distraction going on, so much interference in the drivers' young heads, that they didn't hear the message: 'the pitlane is closed, the red light is on'.
"Here was Lewis, with nearly a nine-second advantage, and Nico with a very competitive car was up for a very good performance and possibly a podium, when the safety car comes out. It doesn't matter who you are, you are going to be upset and annoyed, and does it affect your head? Yes.
"They come in (to the pits), and they need to be talked down mentally. And that is almost a psychiatrist's job because that is where the coach could have come in, because the man who talks to him (the driver) should be the man who specializes in good, clear communication. He should know when to put the emphasis on a certain word � just like an air traffic controller.
"He will have had almost a lap to be talked down, to have his head clean, for when he comes in. There has to be the right choice of words, not unnecessary words spoken because that causes fog. So don't say anything you don't need to say.
"You have to bring the guys head down so when he accelerates out you say: "By the way the red light is on. The red light is on. Repeat. Do you understand?
"You say that while he is still in the pits. The blame that Lewis got and blame Nico got was all on their shoulders. That was wrong. Because the team should have actually ensured that they were clear, there was no big rush. The pitlane is closed, the cars are stopped. Each had the 'oh shit' factor. He looked up, and bang. They hadn't been properly prepared mentally to restart the race."
Stewart also beleives the teams should get into act of hiring coaches.
"I think it needs to come from the teams. At the end of the day they are the employer because they have so much more to lose than the drivers.
"Nowadays the safety factor is so big that there are not many penalties for drivers, but there are mammoth penalties for teams. If we in Williams do not finish races, the cost to Frank, the team and the sponsor not being as well pleased as they might be is very large. The leadership in this must come from the teams.
"I am a big supporter of Lewis although I have been quite critical. In 36 to 48 months is going to think back, why didn't I think about that? Why did I not do that? "
Stewart urges F1 to embrace driver coaches [Autosport.com]
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