Why I Love Formula 1

Like many others, I developed an interest in — and one might say became obsessed with — Formula 1 racing after watching “Drive to Survive” on Netflix during the pandemic. The show is a docudrama that follows Formula 1 drivers, managers, and team owners on and off the track, and it has it all: race strategy, intense competition, exotic locales, and lots of drama! 

After following our favorite teams and drivers (hello, Charles Leclerc) for several seasons, Adam and I attended the Formula 1 race in Austin, Texas last October for the U.S. Grand Prix. It had all the bells and whistles you would expect from one of the world’s most glamorous sports, including celebrities like Brad Pitt, Ed Sheeran, and Shaq in attendance. As an added bonus of being in the paddock with Christian Horner (Red Bull’s team principal) when Netflix was filming, I made a brief cameo on last season’s Drive to Survive, which gave me some street cred (no pun intended) with my MBA students. 

I love trying to find fun and interesting ways to bring operations management to life when I teach, and I soon learned that logistics, inventory management, and lean systems play a central role in Formula 1 teams’ success. With 23 races that span 20 countries on five continents over nine months, Formula 1 has more complex logistical challenges than just about any other global sport, making it a perfect example to leverage in my Process Analytics MBA course. 

To gain a better understanding of how hard it can be to plan and execute logistics around the world, I have my MBA students work in groups to optimize how Formula 1 teams can leverage all forms of transportation — via air, sea, and land — under various scheduling constraints (e.g., races on back-to-back weekends in different countries) and financial limitations. Similarly, when teaching lean systems, we talk about how Formula 1 teams plan and execute pit stops; I mean, changing four tires in 2.2 seconds is a perfect example of a Lean process! This past spring, I invited the chief of staff for the new Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Christoph Jamann, to be a guest speaker in my MBA class to discuss the logistical and operational challenges Formula 1 faced when planning the race weekend in a new location. 

Moreover, Formula 1 is now a family affair for us! Our girls, Abby (age 7) and Ellie (age 5), enjoy watching the races — at least for the few minutes their attention spans allow — and even have their own favorite drivers. And Adam built a high-end racing simulator in our basement that the girls love to drive (with a little help from us) when he isn’t pretending he’s Max Verstappen (more like Nicholas Latifi … if you know, you know) against other sim racers around the world. 

What’s next for this hobby? Adam and I are planning on driving the (in)famous Nordschleife racetrack in Germany sometime in the next few years! 

Katie Wowak.

Associate Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations

Robert and Sara Lumpkins Associate Professor of Business Analytics