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In a sport like Formula One where drivers literally risk their lives chasing immortal glory and break neck speeds, it's easy to overlook the people behind the scenes that make the sport a reality.
And though the cutthroat nature of F1 has been covered from the perspectives of the drivers and team principal – and the political battles that inevitably catalyse heated story lines – the sport also demands extreme levels of dedication and sacrifice from everyday people that work across the 11 teams, all contributing towards one common goal; championships.
In his recently published book Formula One: The World’s Most Brutal Sport, Australian journalist Stewart Bell offers in depth insight into the harsh reality of making a living in the sport from someone who's spent over two decades covering the grid.
“Formula One – will consume you, such is the commitment to work in the sport. Your role has to be an extension of you; a personal crusade, a lifestyle you live, breathe, eat and sleep, which allows you to access the deep mental and physical reserves required for consistent, long-term high performance,” Bell wrote.
In an exclusive interview with Drive, Bell said the savage nature of F1 – where careers and millions of dollars are on the line each year – leaves no room for those unwilling to push themselves to the absolute limit, regardless of their position.
“If you want an easy life, you know where you are, you know you are not travelling, then Formula One is not for someone who doesn’t want an exciting rollercoaster life,” he said.
“F1 requires you to be at your best and to provide your best at all times. So, it doesn’t who you are in that sport [whether you’re a driver or a pit crew member], you’re always pushing yourself, so even if you’re part of the sport, you’re in that cauldron.
"It's the constant pressure that really pushes everyone. From media, the drivers, and the commercial team – they're tasked with finding hundred million dollar deals for the team. You are pushing yourself to breaking point because that is the ethos of Formula One,” Bell told Drive.
In a sport that requires all aspects of one's life to be put aside in the chase for the Drivers and Constructor's' Championship each season, the Australian journalist highlighted the deep level of competition in the paddock during a race weekend.
“You're at war, no matter your role in the paddock: to be the fastest, to get the biggest budget, to do the best launch, or to break the biggest news," he wrote.
“That's why the F1 paddock is fascinating place to be, as everyone has a headful of tasks and compacted deadlines. There are no freak outs, only furrowed brows and more furious work. Anyone who doesn't have anything to do sticks out like a sore thumb."
When asked what the most gruelling part about a normal F1 season is, Bell highlighted the immense travel demands – on top of elite race weekend performances – for numerous team members who travel to different countries and time zones on a weekly basis.
The first six races of the 2026 season will take place in Australia, China, Japan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United States in under two months.
In the book's foreword written by Guenther Steiner – the former team principal of Haas – a team's set up crew and mechanics generally endure the hardest travel conditions each season.
“I've always said the toughest roles are the set-up crew and the mechanics. In the triple headers, the engineers, management, they fly back between races in business class, while these guys, not only are they flying in economy class, but they're going direct from one race to the next – meaning that they're sometimes gone for a month and not able to see their families," Steiner said.
Asked for his own personal experiences with the gruelling travel schedule, Bell recalls the first time he covered the Singapore Grand Prix, a circuit notoriously known for its heat and high humidity – and where even the greatest drivers sometimes fall short of the podium.
“I remember the first time I went to Singapore; I was only there three days and it's a night race. I basically got in at 6:00am on the overnight flight.
“I made the very silly mistake of not sleeping on the plane and writing up [stories] till 3:00am and you’re falling asleep typing and you’re pushing yourself through your own limit.”
Still, that experience doesn’t compare to Bell’s grassroots days of his early motorsport media career, where the journalist recalled spending endless hours watching multiple races in a day in varying weather conditions.
“I think all the really difficult times was definitely covering all the local and state stuff,” Bell says with a slight laugh.
“Back then, you would cover 27 races straight and you couldn’t sleep because you had to tabulate all the results. Then you had to write the story [for the next day], that was 24 hours of constant work.
“I remember being at Philip Island during the wintertime and watching the state racing series and oh my goodness. I had four layers of clothing on, and I had a letterbox for eyes, it was the only part you can see of me.
“I was furiously scribbling down what was going on at the track. Very few people are going to want to do that. It’s those early days that teach you that’s the real brutality [of covering motorsport],” he told Drive.
If endless travel, long hours, and immense pressure are the foundational pillars of the F1 ecosystem – why get involved at all?
For Bell, it's the love of seeing how fast cars can travel around a circuit that makes it worth enduring the hardship.
“Formula One at its heart is a band of hardcore racing fanatics. To get into the sport, to work in the sport you have to absolutely love what Formula One is about."
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
