The Importance of Formula One Figures Speaking Out about Mental Health
In case you weren’t aware, June is globally recognised as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the suicide rate among males in 2021 was around four times higher than the suicide rate among females, and it also says that men make up almost 80% of all suicides.
Though we believe the F1 drivers on our screen to be physically indestructible, a lot of them - past and present - have spoken out about mental health and their own dealing with troubles. To bring awareness to this stigma and attempt to shut down the taboo surrounding men suffering with mental wellbeing, we wanted to share these with you to remind men - and women - that you are not alone and that help is available.
Lando Norris
source: www.mclaren.com
Despite being only 24 years old, Lando has possibly been the most open about his struggles with mental health, especially when he first broke into Formula One in 2019 and 2020. In an interview on British television show ‘This Morning’ in 2021, Lando spoke very openly about his negative thoughts, discussing how he was "feeling like, I don't know what's next, if this goes wrong, if I don't go out in the next session and perform, what's the outcome of all of this? Am I going to be in Formula 1 next year? If I'm not, what am I going to do? Because I'm not really good at many other things in life. So just all of that, and then feeling depressed a lot of time that if I have a bad weekend I just think, I'm not good enough and things like that. When they start adding up over a season, and the social media side of it all, that can just really start to hurt you." After the discussions he had on the show, he has been very vulnerable with his mental health struggles and believes that by speaking about his own experiences, it has encouraged others to open up to speak about their own issues. In his interview with GQ magazine in 2023, Lando has said that “A few people said that I had saved their life - that hits you pretty hard.”
George Russell
source: mercedesamgf1.com
In an interview with Men’s Health Magazine back in 2023, George opened up about seeing a therapist after a low point in his career. Speaking about getting professional help, George said “I thought I could just pick myself up from that moment” and battle his issues alone, however he goes on to say “I was so grateful I was advised to do that, because I came away from that conversation feeling so much better about myself, and put those negatives to the side.” After his experiences, he is using his platforms by sharing how he lifts himself up on days he feels down. George speaks very vulnerably, detailing that “it takes a lot of courage sometimes because you just want to sit on the sofa, watch some TV, and you don't really have the energy to do anything else. You don't want to see people, but you absolutely need to pick yourself up, get out the house, get some clear air, and that really helps me in those moments.”
Valtteri Bottas
source: valtteribottas.com
George isn’t the only one to speak up about his struggles with mental wellbeing - Finnish driver Valterri Bottas has also shared his experiences, especially his unhealthy relationship with eating and training habits. Speaking with journalist Maria Vietola, Bottas admitted that, at one point, he was only eating steamed broccoli in between intensive training to get his weight down from 73kg to 68kg in an attempt to be as light as possible to get the best aerodynamic results in the car. Not only this, but witnessing his former teammate Jules Bianchi pass away from injuries sustained from his crash in Suzuka alongside other battles Valtteri was facing led to psychologists describing him as a robot due to him becoming emotionally exhausted and solely being focussed on racing. Following on from this, The Urban Journal explains how it took the Finnish driver two years to recover from losing Bianchi and to rediscover his love for racing. In a report by RacingNews365, Bottas has said how "it has actually been almost therapeutic to speak about certain topics, [being] very open, [saying things] just like they are. I'm sure about some things there will be some talks or headlines, but I don't care. It's nice to share my experiences."
Not The Only Ones!
These three aren’t the only Formula One figures to speak up about their battles with mental health and negative thinking - you only have to watch the video that Formula One themselves produced for World Mental Health Day back in 2022 to hear about their own individual fights. As Sebastian Vettel put to the media whilst he was racing, there is ‘no superman’ when it comes to athletes dealing with self-doubt, and goes on to say that “we’re all human, we all go through the same stuff, same challenges.”
It’s imperative that all athletes, not just those in Formula One and motorsport, continue to speak out about their experiences with mental health to remind fans that they aren’t alone in what they are feeling, and to stress the importance of speaking out when thoughts get overwhelming. It’s a tribute to the strength of these athletes to contribute to the topic in an attempt to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health problems, and admitting to seeking help only further reflects this and - hopefully - encourages those who are extremely struggling to seek professional help too.
If you or anybody you know is struggling with mental health problems, please speak to someone. There are some amazing resources and outlets for people to access should they need to talk to somebody in confidence.
Are you or someone you know struggling with mental health?
Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/
Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/
Shout - https://giveusashout.org/
National Alliance on Mental Illness - https://www.nami.org/
None of the above resources available in your country?
Please visit https://findahelpline.com/ to find helplines available in your region.
