Club Focus
Wellbeing in motorsport
M otorsport is full of pressures. As a driver, it’ s the need to perform, please sponsors and repay the people who support you. As a team member, it’ s the need to get things right, say things right and not let anyone down. As a volunteer, it’ s the need to respond quickly, handle incidents and cope with it all when things get chaotic.
Some might say that the ability to handle pressures is part of racing – but the mind is a curious thing and sometimes that pressure can get the better of us. However, being able to tell people when it all gets too much does not come easy.
Former racing driver Danny Watts has experienced firsthand the depths that mental health issues can take you to, but now that he has climbed out the other side, he is working with the British Racing Drivers Club to highlight the issues and offer some help.
“ As a racing driver, you’ ve got this ego, you don’ t want to be seen to be vulnerable or weak,” he explains.“ You’ re standing on top of a podium with a trophy, the champagne, and everyone’ s looking up at you as this strong character, strong personality, so you shouldn’ t be seen to be weak – but I think that’ s where the problem lies.
“ Actually, you know what, it’ s okay not to be okay; it’ s okay to be comfortable being uncomfortable. The more we talk about it, the more people will start to say if it’ s right for that person to talk about it openly, then I can talk about it because I’ ve got problems, then the next person and the next person and the momentum starts building.
“ And it’ s not just drivers that go through the pressure; it’ s team members, F1 mechanics who are travelling the world and away from their families, volunteers who are putting in years of their lives to help us go racing and see some traumatic things. That pressure can come when you’ re in the sport, but also when you stop.”
SUPPORT NETWORK Watts studied for a degree in Psychology with Counselling after recovering from severe depression following his racing retirement. He is now putting that to good use, working tirelessly to promote awareness of mental health within motorsport at every level.
Together with the BRDC Motor Sport Charity, he has launched a service dedicated to the mental health and wellbeing of anyone in motorsport. It started in October last year, helping the BRDC members, their partners and young drivers, but has since expanded its support to reach a wider audience.
The ambition is to foster a cultural shift across the industry and Watts says:“ I’ ve been astonished by the amount of people that have got in touch confidentially to talk and open up. If it’ s a driver who was annoyed by
IT’ S
OKAY
NOT TO
BE OKAY
28 Revolution Magazine