Jenson Button and former F1 driver Alex Wurz have agreed to provide young drivers with a unique opportunity to receive advice about their racing careers. The pair are going to become “Online Driving Instructors” in the SAFEisFast programme, in the weeks ahead. Button will lead the way, he will spend the week of July 2-6 answering questions posted on the SAFEisFast.com between June 23 and June 29. Jenson will be able to offer advice on
every level of driving and particularly on physical conditioning as he continues to keep himself in top shape through competing in triathlons in between races. Wurz will follow up from July 7 to July 20, giving youngsters the benefit of his racing experience and what he has learned in his coaching role for younger drivers, which includes being a Driver Mentor for the Williams F1 Team and Performance Manager for the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.
SAFEisFast.com is a free online resource also offering video tutorials on safety, fitness, mental skills, race craft, career development, sponsorship, marketing and more to assist the careers of drivers in all forms of racing. The website was created by the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC), led by president Bobby Rahal, in conjunction with the FIA Institute. Since its launch, there have been over 100,000 views of the online tutorials with visitors representing 105 countries.
“We are delighted to have two of the leading drivers in world motor sport to participate in this programme,” said Rahal. “Their advice and instruction will be invaluable for young drivers everywhere and we are particularly pleased to offer a platform for them to provide this through SAFEisFast.com.”
SAFE stands for the four crucial qualities of a race driver: being Skilled, Assured, Fit and Empowered. The programme is supported by a grant from the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety and Sustainability.
SAFEisFast has been a great success in the US where drivers who have given advice include Dario Franchitti, Gil de Ferran, Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe.
Great Idea this SAFEisFast.com and its good to hear its now spreading.
Yeah it seems like a good resource, even just for fans to watch the videos to understand more about what it takes to be a top class race driver.
‘Ask Jenson what to do!’ With the exclamation mark, you seem to be hinting that Button shouldn’t be advising young people about driving skills.
Sure, he’s had some bad performances lately but his ability is surely still there, just don’t put young drivers in a simulator with JBs settings.
You read far too much into an exclamation mark
While Peter C may be reading too much into the exclamation mark, it is an appropriate one. Few modern F1 drivers have seen the extreme highs and lows of Button’s career. He’s an excellent choice for offering advice to young drivers.
I’m getting old. I remember Hinch as little kid jumping out of a FF1600 in the paddock and into the passenger seat of his Mom’s car for the ride back home to Oakville as he didn’t have his G1 license yet and couldn’t drive on the road. These kids grow up so fast now! SEB’s neighbors probably say the same thing as well!
I would love to know under which part of Alex Wurtz’s driver coaching “Chopper” Maldonado gets his guidance….
This is a good idea. Perhaps my fellow pentagenarians relish the thought of having Jim Clark and Jack Brabham giving us a tutorial on how to really drive a Morris Eight fast?
I like Jenson, but I’ve been to Frome, so it’s not easy for him to impress me.
Herr Wurz, on the other hand, earned instant respect when he refused to be intimidated by Schumacher around Monaco’s Station Hairpin.
In the course of fighting back to keep ahead of Michael, Wurz forfeited the majority of his front wheels.
The subsequent on-board sequence down to the Nouvelle Chicane is my second favourite F1 race memory.
Alex +has+ the Right Stuff!
Chavs take note!
In my younger days I spent a lot (for me at the time) of money at Brands Hatch race school, in their XR3is not because I had any vision of becoming a racing driver but just for the thrill of driving on the track as fast as I could without falling off. (School rules, you go off, you go home!) You could have 10 timed laps or 30 mins instruction for the same price. After failing to get my target time on the indy circuit, I could sometimes afford the tuition, this was with a racing driver, many of whom are usually unemployed and fill in by instructing. Now having the guy sat next to you telling you when to brake, lift off etc and pointing the place to apex and to hit on the exit, has go to be ten times better than chatting to Jens on the internet.
For those that have not done it, it’s a strange thing knowing all the braking points, the turn-ins etc but hitting them absolutely right is a different matter. (Only twice, I think, I managed to get two perfect corners in succession it just feels right, completely different, total control.) (I never could quite graduate (that’s 1min dead) before I ran out of money and the next baby was on the way)
So my point is, why? What will young drivers get from this SAFEisFAST that they would not get much better from the army of instructors out there? Surely what they really need is ruthless commercial training in hustling, sadly, motor racing is all about money. How to pick a manager, how to run a presentation to prospective sponsors, how to use other people’s money! Driving talent may come in useful much later.
I’m trying to figure out the acronym SAFE, especially “Empowered”. Can anyone explain what that means in the context of a young racing driver? Loaded parents? Sponsoring?