Founders
Episode 395 #395 How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport
Founders

Episode 395: #395 How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport

Founders

Episode 395

#395 How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport

David Senra is the host of Founders, where he studies history's greatest entrepreneurs. This is what he learned from reading The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson and Johnathan Clegg.

Those on the margins often come to control the center. That maxim ties together the three remarkable people profiled in this episode:

Colin Chapman, known as “the mad scientist of F1”, did more to influence F1 design than any other person in history.

Bernie Ecclestone, known as “Supremo”, Bernie transformed Formula One from a disorganized, rag-tag, chaotic collection of racing teams, into the world’s premier motor racing series. He built the business of F1— and made billions for himself along the way.

Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull, bought two Formula One teams and insisted on becoming the sport’s foremost disruptor. Determined to question every standard way of operating, Mateschitz’s unlimited ambition transformed his team of outsiders and mavericks into a dominant force, all while building one of the world’s most valuable private companies.

All three were outsiders. All three thrived on taking risks. All three insisted on doing things their way.

This episode is what I learned from reading The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson and and Johnathan Clegg.

------

⁠⁠Ramp⁠⁠ gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud ⁠⁠by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save time and money.⁠⁠

-----

Automate compliance, security, and trust with Vanta. Vanta helps you win trust, close deals, and stay secure—faster and with less effort. ⁠⁠Find out how increased security leads to more customers by going to Vanta⁠⁠. Tell them David from Founders sent you and you'll get $1000 off.

-----

Join my free email newsletter to⁠⁠ get my top 10 highlights from every book⁠⁠

#395 How Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport

Introduction - Colin Chapman

What you're actually looking for the whole time is the unfair advantage. No one understood this better than a former Royal Air Force pilot whose first love was airplanes. His name was Colin Chapman, and over more than 20 years, he did more to influence F1 design than any other person in history.

This was the man who turned Formula One from a playground for gentlemen mechanics into rocket science. All of it stemmed from his singular purpose in life, which was to extract every ounce of performance from whichever engine he happened to be dealt. What Chapman realized first, and far more dramatically than any of his contemporaries, was that there was more to this racing business than pure horsepower.

Engine capacity didn't matter if he couldn't first solve the paradox of making his cars as light as possible while also engineering them to stick to the racetrack. His mantra was simple: "Adding power makes you fast on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."

Access the full transcript
Sign in or register to view episode transcripts.

Contact

Get in touch at help@joincolossus.com