My love for Project Pitlane, from our MD Lisa Shaddick

Like every other avid F1 fan on the planet, I am really missing the 2020 season. I know there are much more important things going on in the world at the moment, and that people everywhere are enduring unspeakable hardship and tragedy, but I miss it. 

I find the off season to be unending, so I meet that season-opener weekend in March, as the F1 circus starts its global trek around the world each year, with joy and excitement. But not this year. The off season has just continued, like some sort of cruel Groundhog Day.

But being consummate professionals who thrive under extreme pressure while carrying out near-impossible tasks every day, seven UK-based F1 teams have stepped up in the fight against coronavirus under the Project Pitlane banner.

This is my favourite example of what they have achieved: a breathing aid known as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) that can help keep Covid-19 patients out of intensive care. It was adapted by mechanical engineers at UCL and clinicians at UCLH working with Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains and approved for use in the NHS in March. And because F1 is all about speed, it took fewer than 100 hours from the first meeting to the first device being produced. They are hoping this will help people everywhere because they have made all the details to make CPAP available to download free of charge. How amazing is that?

I am lucky enough – thanks to our client Axalta – that for a small part of the year I am able to collaborate with part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, and I could not be prouder of them. I hope the team – and the sport – has gained new fans as well as some admiration thanks to Project Pitlane.