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<\/p>\nStars of Formula One need a helping hand with their craft occasionally, but it might come as a surprise to discover that many of them seek the assistance of a 71-year-old man who doesn’t even go to races when things aren’t going well. Motorsport veteran Rob Wilson has helped the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll get better on the track and in recent times he has been mentoring Red Bull’s reserve driver Liam Lawson through his rookie year.<\/p>\n
Insiders regard Wilson as the sport’s ‘secret weapon’, but you won’t catch him putting international-class drivers trough their paces in a single-seater rocket around Silverstone. On the contrary, the old hand prefers to wish out his tips in the comfort of a \u00a325,000 Ford Puma.<\/p>\n
The New Zealander keeps a low profile and is never likely to be found in the pit lane or on media duties at a Grand Prix. Instead, he simply focuses on fixing issues for drivers who may be struggling with corners, understeers or simply finding it tough to complete races.<\/p>\n
Wilson has been involved in the world of motorsport for over half a century, during which time he has helped over 75 drivers including half of the names that compete on the F1 circuit today.<\/p>\n
The respected driver coach never became an F1 driver himself, although it was a close-run thing, but excelled at Formula Ford and Formula 3 before enjoying spells in NASCAR and Indycar in the USA as well as competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n
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On four occasions he looked destined to become an F1 star himself, only to be usurped by competitors with bigger sponsorship deals on each occassion.<\/p>\n
Far from bitter about his near-misses, Wilson believes it was merely setting him up for his true calling in life, helping other drivers to succeed. Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: \u201cThe whole thing was a rehearsal for this. There are a few aspects to driving fast. There\u2019s all the ABC (acceleration, braking and car control) stuff. Anyone can teach that.<\/p>\n
“Sure, you can look for a higher mid-corner speed or at coming off the brakes later to avoid understeer, but the answer isn\u2019t in squiggly lines on a screen \u2013 data download masquerading as engineering. It\u2019s when you feel it in your bones.\u201d<\/p>\n
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