F1: Tells us more about your job at McLaren, Eric Boullier

A GAME OF SPEED AND PATIENCE

The racing director is the driving force that sets the pace for his team, hopefully matching the car’s development speed. But he remains aware that efforts will not necessarily bear fruits right away.

“You are constantly questioning yourself,” Boullier confirms. “When you tweak something, you start seeing problems elsewhere. If you improve the efficiency of the design office, you must then ramp up production. We invested in new machines last spring while others have been modernised. We have been able to reach a 30% improvement in fabrication, which in turn has boosted our development.

“My biggest satisfaction in 2015 was to notice how things have changed in the team: the atmosphere is now more open, things happen faster, the decision-making process is more fluid.”

“After changing the company’s methods and culture, we’ve come quite close to what we want. But even if the biggest part has been achieved, the overhaul process is never really complete. I appreciate that we start reaping the benefits from the groundwork we laid 15 months ago.

“My biggest satisfaction in 2015 was to notice how things have changed in the team: the atmosphere is now more open, things happen faster, the decision-making process is more fluid. Fine-tuning is still needed in order to gain momentum; you can’t do that overnight when you have a 650-people structure!

“This kind of impetus is what makes your team stay at the top. Remember how Red Bull fared after taking over Jaguar? Things did not really pan out over the first couple of seasons. Before dominating, it took them four, five years to streamline their structure and make everything more efficient.

“And let’s not forget that we are working in a ultra competitive environment: Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari are no slouches. The level of their staff, methods, and manufacturing facilities is extremely high. It is a very tall order to be better than the others.”

Boullier’s job entails dealing with a tremendous pressure under the owner’s watchful eyes, and amidst heavy media criticism and the fans’ merciless judgments. When the team wins, credit usually goes first to the driver and technical director, and then only to the team principal, although he has been quietly building success behind the scenes.