Listener Dave asked a question we don't hear often enough: which team principals are actually best at developing the people on their team, not just the drivers, but engineers, mechanics, and everyone else who makes up a modern F1 operation.

Joe Saward is candid about the limits of what outsiders can really judge, then names the leadership qualities he thinks matter most: the ability to listen, to empower, and to build a team that will go home two hours late instead of five minutes early.

Dick connects it to lessons from coaching and running a business of his own.

They turn it into something closer to a masterclass in leadership than a Formula 1 discussion, touching on the psychology of long-haul travel and why a team principal is more like a cruise ship captain than a CEO. The conversation ranges from management styles at the top teams to why some F1 engineers left aerospace for the sport, to the medical and psychological toll of the travel schedule most fans never think about.

Whether any team principal has this fully figured out is left for the listener to decide.

Check out Joe online:

• JSBM Newsletter
• Grand Prix+
• The Green Notebook

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Support the show

Have episode feedback or ideas? Drop them a line at: sabrina@2guysagirlandf1.com

Follow 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 on Instagram.

Check out Dick's karting documentary, Power Drive Vegas.
Interested in Dick's return to kart racing? Check out, Begin Again.

Thanks to all who have become members of the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 via our “Buy me A Coffee” page. This community is growing because of you. To become a member, click here.

Like the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 background music? It's "An Adventure Called Life" by Score Squad. It's available for purchase at Premium Beat. Use referral code SNSAEDUB at checkout to get 25% off your first purchase.

2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 United States Grand Prix at COTA. Joe Saward says that, barring a miracle, he will be crowned world champion at the very next race.

Ferrari looked strong all weekend and still left Austin without converting. Max Verstappen was unhappy on the radio and finished on the podium anyway. And with Mexico City next, Dick explains why altitude turns the setup puzzle upside down.

But the story Sabrina couldn’t stop thinking about was on the other side of the garage. George Russell and Oscar Piastri are proven race winners, and right now their teammates are beating them.

So she asks Dick, a championship-winning racer himself, the question most coverage skips: how does a driver at this level work through that?

Check out Joe online:

• JSBM Newsletter
• Grand Prix+
• The Green Notebook

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Have episode feedback or ideas? Drop them a line at: sabrina@2guysagirlandf1.com

Follow 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 on Instagram.

Check out Dick's karting documentary, Power Drive Vegas.
Interested in Dick's return to kart racing? Check out, Begin Again.

Thanks to all who have become members of the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 via our “Buy me A Coffee” page. This community is growing because of you. To become a member, click here.

Like the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 background music? It's "An Adventure Called Life" by Score Squad. It's available for purchase at Premium Beat. Use referral code SNSAEDUB at checkout to get 25% off your first purchase.

2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey

Listener Troy framed it as a debate: could Formula 1 manage without Ferrari? And could Ferrari manage without Formula 1?

Dick, Joe Saward, and Sabrina take on both sides.

Joe walks through Ferrari's structural advantages, from veto rights to historical bonus payments, and challenges the assumption that money alone explains the team's power.

Dick brings an unexpected comparison from his years working for the Dallas Cowboys, and the conversation ends up somewhere neither debate topic anticipated: aspirational marketing, merchandise, and why the New York Yankees might be the most useful comparison of all.

Troy's question turns out to have two different answers, and neither one is simple.

Check out Joe online:

• JSBM Newsletter
• Grand Prix+
• The Green Notebook

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Have episode feedback or ideas? Drop them a line at: sabrina@2guysagirlandf1.com

Follow 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 on Instagram.

Check out Dick's karting documentary, Power Drive Vegas.
Interested in Dick's return to kart racing? Check out, Begin Again.

Thanks to all who have become members of the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 via our “Buy me A Coffee” page. This community is growing because of you. To become a member, click here.

Like the 2 Guys, A Girl, and F1 background music? It's "An Adventure Called Life" by Score Squad. It's available for purchase at Premium Beat. Use referral code SNSAEDUB at checkout to get 25% off your first purchase.

2025 Sound Engineers: Paul Douglas and Elena Richey