At Allen Berg Racing Schools, You’re Treated Like a Formula 1 Champion
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For those of you that follow Formula 1, you have a keen sense of how these world-class athletes are treated – some might say pampered – and the parallels to how you are treated at Allen Berg Racing Schools are present from beginning to end.
Leading up to that special day on your calendar when you are going to be hustling an open-wheel car through the Corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, there has been much planning that has happened in preparation for your visit. Your suit has been cleaned and prepped. Same with your helmet. They will be waiting for you in the driver’s meeting room – just as they are for Lewis Hamilton when he arrives at the track.
Your pre-event instructions have indicated that you must be at the track early. Just like Daniel Ricciardo. Once you arrive, you are greeted by your crew who treat you like the future Champion that you are.
And just like they do for Lando Norris, as early as it was for you to arrive at the track, your crew has already been there for quite some time. They brought your car out to pit lane, ran a systems check. Fired up the engine to get it to optimal temps, checked tire pressures, and adjusted the seat. Mechanics and instructors have debriefed to ensure that all of the items on the checklist have been completed. Plus, the team leader has liaised with track officials to get an update on track conditions.
Once you’ve selected your racing suit, you are offered a coffee, tea, or water and a light snack, just like Sebastian Vettel.
An important part of a Formula 1 race weekend is the track walk and this will be next on your schedule. Professional instructors with 100s of laps of Laguna Seca will take you on a walk and point out the significant track attributes that either contributes to lowering your lap times, or significantly increasing them.
After the track walk, there will be a debriefing where you will be given the goals and objectives of your first on-track experience. This debrief, which is similar to what Carlos Sainz will experience, happens prior to every on-track session and is a critical element of a successful outing.
You’re told to suit up, grab your helmet, and head to your car. If Formula 1 drivers like Lance Stroll did not have someone who told them when it’s time to do this, they’d be late for every session!
You are directed to your car with one of the team members assigned to get you into your car, set your belts and tighten them up, remind you where the controls are and which gauges to monitor, and when. You are then told to wait for the signal to start your engine, engage first gear and roll down pit lane. And just like Valtteri Bottas, you are reminded to pull down the visor on your helmet as you head out onto the track for your first session.
During your run, there is a team of professionals monitoring your run, just like they do for Sergio Perez. Detailed notes are taken on your racing line, braking points, throttle traces, and more.
You’d like to keep running, but you get the flag to come back into the pits. Just like Nicholas Latifi, you are happy with the progress you made during your run, but you would have liked just a few more laps. Don’t worry, your next session is coming soon and this time, you’ll be armed with the instructor feedback and on-board data analysis that will decrease your lap times significantly. These important debriefs are what made Kimi Raikkonen a World Champion.
Once your debrief is over, you grab some water, sit and reflect and wait until the crew at Allen Berg Racing Schools gives you the word that it’s time to head back to your race car. At this time Charles Leclerc will probably go sign some autographs and that may not be something you’ll experience today, but completing your school with us is an important step on that journey.
So you see, joining us at Allen Berg Racing Schools is the same experience that Formula 1 stars like Max Verstappen go through every race weekend. We hope to see you soon…… Champ!
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