Meet F1’s 72-year-old secret weapon who barely goes to races… but hones drivers’ skills in £25,000 Ford Puma

11 months ago 98

ROB WILSON might not be a name that you associate with Formula One – but he is a man that some of the biggest stars have turned to for help.

The likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll have both used the veteran 72-year-old’s expertise.

F1’s mysterious ‘secret weapon’ Rob Wilson is a man that has helped a host of star names[/caption]

And he has helped to mentor Liam Lawson, a reserve driver for the Red Bull team, to his impressive rookie year.

Wilson is known to many inside motor racing as F1’s “secret weapon” – and he does it all in his modest £25,000 Ford Puma.

But you are not likely to see him in the pit lane, read about him much in the media, or even spot him at a grand prix.

However, he is vital to helping drivers “correct conked-out corners, overturns understeer and delivering people from endless DNFs”.

In the 50 years the New Zealander has been involved in the sport he has helped over 75 stars, including half of the current grid.

He also had an impressive career himself as a racer, triumphing in Formula Ford and F3, taking part in Le Mans and nearly becoming an F1 ace himself, only to be pulled out of a seat on four occasions by people with biggest sponsorship deals.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Wilson said: “The whole thing was a rehearsal for this.”

But what exactly does he bring to the table now? Here is what he has to say in his own words.

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He said: “There are a few aspects to driving fast. There’s all the ABC (acceleration, braking and car control) stuff.

“Anyone can teach that. Sure, you can look for a higher mid-corner speed or at coming off the brakes later to avoid understeer, but the answer isn’t in squiggly lines on a screen – data download masquerading as engineering. It’s when you feel it in your bones.”

It is claimed that his “real genius is esoteric” and in getting drivers “translating little messages through the body to the planes of the machine”.

His message is a difficult one to relay until it is put into practice… and that is why he uses his manual-transmission Ford Puma road car for drivers to get a much clearer feeling of what exactly he is looking for when he is helping them.

Wilson says: “You become one with the car, the car becomes one with the surface, you become one with the surface, and you can almost transcend the car.”

And on to the drivers themselves, here is how he manages some of the biggest egos on the planet.

He added: “When they arrive, they are the most important person in the world.

“They’re anxious to show how fast they are, what incredible reflexes they have. And I have to get rid of all that.”