Performance Process: F1's obsession with cycling makes better drivers with Jack Aitken
Spin Cycle
Escape Collective
4.9 • 960 Ratings
🗓️ 1 March 2024
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We interrupt our regular scheduling to bring you a special episode of Performance Process to coincide with the start of the Formula 1 season. In this special episode we focus less on the processes of going faster and more on the transferable skills, processes, and obsessions between F1 and cycling with former F1 driver and Escape Collective member, Jack Aitken.
Jack was the 2015 Formula Renault Eurocup champion and he competed in GP3 and FIA Formula 2 before becoming test drive at Renault F1. He is best known in F1 circles for his time with Williams F1, whom he drove for in the 2020 Sakhir Gand Prix. We recorded this episode last July when he was doubling up driving duties with IMSA’s Whelen Cadillac and DTM’s Emil Frey racing. Jack is back in IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) this year with the number 31 car Whelen Engineering Cadillac.
Jack also takes to two wheels as often as any of us and has competed in both criteriums and gran fondos. We ask Jack what the fascination is with cycling for F1 drivers, and discuss the transferable skills, the leakage of talent that is F1’s loss and cycling’s gain, environmental endeavours of both sports, how breathable his underwear is, and finally rules … but of course.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the performance process everybody. I'm Kayle Frets. |
| 0:15.0 | Joined as always by Ronan McLaughlin Ronan. |
| 0:19.0 | Who are we talking to today? Or I should say, who are we talking to six months ago? |
| 0:22.0 | Six months ago, were we talking to six months ago? |
| 0:22.6 | Uh, six months ago we were talking to an Escape Collective member, Jack Aiken. |
| 0:27.6 | Uh, Jack is, well, I could just say he's like a motor sports professional, but I'll give professional but I'll give him a better intro |
| 0:34.7 | in that he's 2015 Formula Renault Euro Cup champion competed in GP3 competed in FAA Formula 2 he was |
| 0:41.8 | then a Renault F1 test driver and sort of became more widely known as Williams |
| 0:47.0 | F1 reserve driver. He is also an F1 driver having risked the 2020 |
| 0:52.3 | secure Grand Prix. |
| 0:54.0 | And when we recorded this episode last July, |
| 0:57.5 | coincidentally on the same day that the Tour de France |
| 1:00.6 | finished on a motor racing circuit. He was at that time doubling up |
| 1:05.2 | driving duties with Impsa's Wheeling Cadillac Racing and DTTMs Emile Fry racing. |
| 1:12.1 | Yeah so he was driving a Cadillac in America and a Ferrari in Europe basically, which doesn't sound too bad really. |
| 1:18.0 | That sounds good and proper, yeah. |
| 1:20.0 | Hmm, sounds like a nice, nice way to make a love one, I guess. |
| 1:25.0 | So he's a very fast driver, which means that he spends quite a bit of time thinking about |
| 1:30.3 | how to drive even faster, I would imagine. That's kind of why we wanted to talk to him, right? |
| 1:35.0 | Yeah, it's slightly different episode this week. |
| 1:37.4 | It's a special episode coinciding |
| 1:39.1 | with the start of the Formula One season. |
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