Let’s Talk Formula 1!

Formula 1 fervor! Today, my article takes a different turn, literally. Yep, F1! Last year on this date, I celebrated a milestone birthday and decided to spring for travel with my three children to my favorite city in the world: Salzburg, Austria. The trip included components that were professional (incredible tour of mafi – walk on art) and pleasurable (Sound of Music tour). If that wasn’t enough of a sublime-to-ridiculous experience, throw in the F1 race at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, the centerpiece of our holiday. This, folks, was the most thrilling live event I have ever attended. Three solid days of thrills, in fact.

I imagine that a bunch of you are surprised to learn I am a Formula 1 fanatic. (Many have been.) Well … there’s an explanation. Through my son Marshall, I learned that F1 integrates all sorts of attributes that are important to me as an architect. Design. Technology. Innovation. Engineering. Leadership. Details. Intellect. Strategy. Collaboration. Teamwork. Culture. Sound familiar, to those of us in the design professions?

Critics of my fandom remind me that F1 is a terrifically ‘bougie’ sport, and I reluctantly acknowledge that the figures are indeed well beyond my comprehension. They also criticize the carbon footprint. I then explain that many of the greatest strides in hybrid technologies and advances in electric vehicles had their genesis in F1. Innovations that are now visible in our everyday rides (especially my Prius). Then comes their final dagger. Along with the exclusivity, they mention the exclusion. Where is diversity and inclusion? That is another area F1 is trying diligently to change. Just as we are in our own profession.

I guess I sound like I am trying to justify my interest. Not at all; I am attempting to introduce some of my colleagues to a motorsport that shares many of our characteristics as well as our professional society’s same two strategic goals:
–       For the AIA: climate action | For F1: sustainability
–       For the AIA: social justice | For F1: diversity

(I should mention that I was a fan before seeing the Netflix series that introduced millions to the sport.) Borrowing David Croft’s excitingly familiar intro to each race’s start, “It’s lights out, and away we go!!!” Yep, these are thrills that deserve your notice!

Photo Credit: Helen Xu in Spielberg, Austria | July 2023