Fernando Alonso reveals the mental games, or mind games, that are played in Formula 1. According to the Spaniard, it’s commonplace in the premier class for drivers to obstruct each other during free practice and to confront each other during the Driver Briefing.
Fernando Alonso, with more than two decades in Formula 1, is currently the most experienced driver on the grid. The Spaniard has shared the track with many drivers during his time in the premier class, including world champions Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen. The 44-year-old driver has also learned to play the necessary ‘mental games’ with his colleagues on the grid.
“We always try to focus on ourselves and our own team, but mental games are always being played,” Alonso candidly tells Maadenksa in an interview. “Even during free practice sessions, it happens. Drivers obstruct each other, or they overtake each other in the pit lane and then brake, hindering all the cars that follow.”
Driver Briefing
However, the so-called mind games are not limited to the action on the track. Even during the Driver Briefing – the meeting between the race management, the stewards, and the drivers before a qualification – some drivers play games. “It can happen that your biggest rival from a previous race, for example, wants to discuss your overtaking move that was on the edge. They want clarification, even though they know the action was allowed. They just want to point the finger at you.”
