How Adrian Newey’s F1 Mindset Can Stop You From Wasting Your Life On Regret (And Win Back Control)
You’re not a machine, but you can learn how to race through life’s mess-ups without spinning into the wall.
You’ve had a shit day. Now what?
You’ve been there.
We’ve all been there.
That moment when life just decides to throw oil right under your mental tyres.
Maybe it’s a botched job interview, a brutal breakup, or that feeling when you’ve been royally screwed over (hello, Abu Dhabi 2021, anyone?).
Whatever it is, bad shit happens, and your brain is like, “Let’s replay this disaster on a loop, shall we?”
Adrian Newey, the genius behind some of the fastest F1 cars on the planet, knows a thing or two about setbacks.
In a podcast chat, he opened up about how after a tough race, Mercedes “psychologically couldn’t let it go.”
Ouch.
And this isn’t just a pit-stop gossip session — it’s a life lesson.
Newey gets it.
You’ve gotta wake up the next day and move on.
Be pissed off for a night, sure, but don’t set up camp in Miseryville.
So, why the hell can’t we do that?
What we learn from dwelling on losses
The truth?
Humans are programmed to dwell on the bad stuff.
You lose one race, and it’s like your mind takes you on an emotional circuit of doom — lap after lap, beating yourself up.
Sound familiar?
We’ve got this habit of thinking that just because we didn’t win or achieve something, we’re somehow unworthy.
But, guess what?
Life isn’t an F1 race where coming in second ruins your entire season.
Just like Newey pointed out, sure, he’s “horrible to be around” right after a race goes sideways, but come Monday morning, he’s back in the factory, ready to design something brilliant again.
Imagine if we all handled life like that.
Yeah, your weekend sucked, but why should Monday pay the price?
Your brain isn’t your teammate — it’s more like the annoying backseat driver
When you fail or fall short, your mind kicks into overdrive, acting like a backseat driver who won’t shut up.
“Why didn’t I do better?”
“What if I screw up again?”
“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.”
But this mental chatter is like running on old tyres — it’s slowing you down, but you refuse to pit and change.
What Adrian Newey and F1 can teach us is that success, and mental peace, come from tuning out the noise and focussing on the next lap, not the last one.
Lewis Hamilton even weighed in on the whole drama, cool as a cucumber.
When asked if he was disappointed Newey didn’t join Ferrari, he said, “Honestly, no.”
He’s learned how to focus on what’s in front of him, not what could’ve been.
That’s the energy we should be channelling — let go of the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘if onlys’.
How to stop your mind from hijacking your life
Look, this isn’t about pretending everything’s great when your life feels like it’s on fire.
This is about acknowledging the mess, learning from it, and then getting back in the fucking car for the next race.
Feel it, but don’t stay there.
Like Newey said, it’s okay to be angry or upset after a bad race.
But don’t drag it into your Monday.
Set a deadline for your pity party and stick to it.Shift focus.
The next time your mind wants to replay a loss on loop, hit pause.
Ask yourself, “What’s my next move?”
Think like a race car driver — what’s ahead matters more than what’s behind.Change the narrative.
When a setback happens, it’s easy to see yourself as a victim.
Screw that.
Be the driver, not the passenger.
You’re in control, even when it feels like you’re spinning out.Surround yourself with winners.
If you keep hanging around people who dwell on their losses, you’ll never get out of that headspace.
Find people who push you forward, not the ones stuck rewatching their old crashes.
The finish line is always moving, so keep driving
At the end of the day, life is one long race.
You’re going to have bad days — hell, you’re going to have disastrous days where you feel like everything’s breaking down on the last lap.
But what makes the difference is how you respond.
Are you going to sulk, or are you going to get back in the garage and start designing your next win?
Take it from Newey, Hamilton, and every other person who’s faced setbacks: dwelling on the past gets you nowhere fast.
The future’s where the wins are, and if you focus on that, you’ll always be ahead of the curve.
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