An honest insight into mental health from the race car to the pit lane.
With one in four people suffering a mental health disorder in their lifetime, it is unsurprising that in a demanding, high pressure job such as working in the motorsport world, this statistic is very much relevant. Drivers might be at the centre of the show, but teams of mechanics and engineers spend weeks and weeks away from family and friends. This is also discounting the messages both drivers and crew may receive if they have had a bad weekend for the team on social media, which the likes of Lando Norris, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean have spoken out about before.
Sophie Cress, Licensed Mental health specialist, and I spoke about the pressures of the job and how this may differ between men and women, but also how mentally, some things are similar between the genders. She said: “The intense workload, unrelenting scrutiny and tight scheduling can be detrimental to an individual’s health. The constant pressure to perform is a major contributor to the mental toll. Success in motorsports is frequently determined by snap decisions and faultless execution, which can cause a great deal of tension and anxiety.”
Sophie discussed the difference between men and women when it comes to motorsport, where she confirmed that women may process stress or anxiety in a different way to men. She also made a point that drivers who are male may feel more performance anxiety than women. As female drivers go up in driver numbers, it’s more to compete with. She said: “Gender biases and the pressure to succeed in a male – dominated sport might create further levels of stress for women in this field. The prevailing culture in motorsport is something else to take into account. Although there has been progress in recent years to encourage diversity and inclusion, the industry has historically been controlled by men, and there are still major impediments for women. The lack of systems of support specifically designed for women in racing might make it challenging for anyone to ask for assistance or be honest about their challenges.”
Someone who has been affected by mental health in her job as a race driver is Logan Hannah, 22. Logan was crowned ‘Female racer of the year’ in 2017 and has raced in GT3 and Formula 4. She has been a racer since age 10 when her dad got her involved in the racing world through his company sponsorship and since then she has raced in all corners of the world; from the Middle East to France. As a girl in motorsport, she has suffered her fair share of mental struggles, and not just from being behind the wheel.
When I asked Logan about any mental toll her job may have had on her, she said: “It’s not an easy sport to be a part of. I mean, even if you isolate the driving, without anything else, you could do as much as you can and do everything perfectly. But all it takes is someone else to make a mistake and take you out and there is nothing you can do. You haven’t made the mistake, somebody else has, and you have just been collected in that. Motorsport is full of more highs than lows; obviously you need to be able to savour and enjoy the highs, but you have to remember that they will not be around forever.”
“Everything that is involved in trying to bring the money in just to go racing in the first place, there is so much behind the scenes that you don’t see in the outside world. We see the errors and the weeks and months having meetings and begging people for money just to be able to stick a sticker on the side of your car and to be able to have tires and fuel that weekend. It does take a big mental toll on you, but you have to remember that your time will come if you keep working for it, something will eventually happen.”
I asked Logan about her family, and if the weekends and weeks away for racing and testing can be difficult mentally. She explained: “Little things like, life goes on. 2022 was my year in GB4 and F4, and we had a really good year of race wins and then you get faced with things like family illness. It takes the wind out of your sail and you have to start again. That is predominantly why I didn’t race last year, because my mum was going through breast Cancer treatment, so I took a step back. As much as I had spent the last 10-12 years fighting for this goal, there are still things that are more important. But I’m still doing my degree, I’m still working, still emailing people but I am recently focusing on turning it around and going again for this year.”
After a difficult year for Logan, she hopes to get back into racing as normal this year. She said: “I think when you are at a race weekend and it’s not going to plan, you might crash, you might not have qualified where you wanted to, you might not be finishing the race. But you have to remind yourself that you are living someone else’s dream even if you are not quite up to your own standards. The fact you are in a race car on a race weekend with all of these people around you; you are already 10 steps ahead of someone who sits in their bedroom and only dreams of it. You have to be able to appreciate and take hold of every moment and appreciate it for what it really is.”
Sophie and I had a lengthy conversation about Logan’s mental health and multiple factors that have added the pressure to her welfare. She said: “Logan’s situation is very unique. As well as the normal pressures of driving, she has university stress and major family illness to contend with. Both men and women in the motorsport industry may experience similar pressures and anxieties relating to the demanding nature of the job. But, it is important to acknowledge that there are indeed significant differences in the experiences between men and women in this field. On the other hand, while men could also encounter pressure to excel in motorsport, they might not encounter the same degree of discrimination or preconceptions based on gender. Men may gain from privilege and representation in leadership roles within the sector, which may provide them with opportunities and advantages that women may not have equal access to.”
“Encouraging changes within the motorsport sector is crucial to resolving the structural problems that lead to women’s mental health difficulties. This might include actively supporting diversity and inclusion programmes inside businesses and institutions as well as speaking up about sexism, discrimination and harassment.”
Zoe Mansfield, 28, works as an on-hand mechanic at Three Sisters Race Track in Wigan. She has worked around the track for 10 years, and every race weekend, she is on hand to fix cars before they go onto the track. In her 10 years of work, she is no stranger to mental struggles. She said: “I never had a role model to look up to when I was younger, maybe the likes of Jamie Chadwick, but no mechanics or crew members. Luckily, my mum loved cars and at some point they all needed work on them, so my dad would heavily involve me in the process; whether that’s changing brake pads or putting in a new gearbox. I absolutely love my job and I am always grateful. But I can’t lie, it can be mentally draining sometimes. There is so much pressure on you to fix multiple cars in a time frame as little as an hour. Now that is not easy. I’ve struggled with anxiety and insomnia because I struggle to ‘turn off’ at night. But everyday I am thankful to be doing something I love, I basically have a hobby for a job.”
When I spoke to Sophie about Zoe’s struggles, she said: “It’s understandable she feels this way. It’s a constant source of pressure and anxiety. Mechanics is such a high pressure job, and I think it makes it daunting that so many people are relying on you to fix the cars in order to race.”
For drivers and crew members in motorsport, there are a few recommended practices and advice on how to lower stress levels and combat anxiety. These practices include: meditation, yoga and rest. Sophie recommends: “To assist, manage stress and preserve general wellbeing, they must prioritise self care routines. This includes setting up reasonable boundaries between a person’s personal life and professional lives. Giving proper rest, food and exercise priority and taking part in stress-relieving activities. Getting emotional support from family and friends can be quite beneficial. Encouraging changes in the motorsport industry is crucial to resolving structural problems that lead to women’s mental health difficulties. Seeking professional mental health support from a therapist can be invaluable in managing stress and anxiety.
