The twenty-first match of the year, one thousand seventy-seven (1077) in absolute value, took place on Sunday, November 13, 2022, at Circuit Jose Carlos Pace in the city of Sao Paulo.

As paradoxical as it may sound, Formula 1 is a team sport. Typically, the average spectator forms their consciousness of racing events from the actions and performances of the riders. Even an ignorant person knows the name of the great pilot. Solely, with the help of the above criterion, the criterion of recognizability of the main characters, it would be possible to assert an argument opposite to that of the introductory sentence. I do not need to go into the reasons that lead to the conclusion that competitive meetings are exclusively team-based, as well as the teamwork that is necessary for the very existence of competitive teams. But it is necessary to indicate schematically their principle of operation, the mechanism that constitutionally shows the correctness of the declaration.

The goal of games of any kind is to turn human conflict into its symbolic dimension, reflecting their internal tension in the eyes of the audience and achieving its final release from real battlefields. The reasonable conception of the Olympiads by the ancient Greeks, with the necessary peace treaty supporting the period of the games, is the most characteristic example of the metamorphosis of the primal instincts in their bloodless symbolic life: in the life of struggle within the stadium and, above all, within certain rules. In Formula 1 we have two competing elements. Man and machine. The pilot gets a car, which in every era is the pinnacle of technological progress. Its construction involves the knowledge and experience of hundreds of designers, engineers and craftsmen. Only the design and handling of the steering wheel of a modern single-seat vehicle deserves appropriate academic recognition. In the 2016 season, when cockpit assistance from an engineer was not allowed during the race, the desperation of the pilots was constantly present. The smooth running of the car is monitored telemetrically throughout the race, and high-performance computers allow analysts to synthesize tire change tactics at any time. A total of one thousand people work to meet the needs of two-seat cars and their drivers. Administratively, they are divided into separate departments with respective chiefs, chiefs and deputy chiefs with specific responsibilities. At the end, a driver appears who is a big star in the eyes of the whole world, but who is nothing more than a cog in this demanding organization.

While the eyes of the spectators are fixed on the aggressive nose of the vehicle following the rhythm of the graceful creature and its rider, the heartbeat of the team coordinates the movements of the participants. A heart controlled by the consciousness of its mind. Serves the intended purpose. The set of values ​​it is looking for. Binotto runs a Ferrari team where the weight of tradition prevents individual recognition from systematic planning, so his emotions and tensions of the imagination inevitably prevail. Toto Wolf, like the other King Arthur, follows the mentality of a round table of equal knights, limited, however, by his insularity. The forgiven Dietrich Mateschich believed in the opportunistic dynamics of the rootless subject. Red Bull is based on the choice of the driver as the central axis of its existence.

His great driver Max Verstappen in Sunday’s race refused to give up his seat to his teammate Sergio Pérez as requested by the team. He justified himself by saying that he remained firm in his reasoning yesterday. Apparently, there was discussion about how the Dutchman should help the Mexican, the product of the race, score as many points as possible in pursuit of second place. But the climate of the team allows him to identify his whim with the collective mentality, with the result that the boss’s orders are lost in the underground legacy of the sharp individuality that Red Bull exudes and inspires. If we even take into account the father’s mandate from (Jos) Verstappen’s son, the unyielding intransigence – the former driver 107 starts, two podiums and 17 points in nine years – then one can come close to the champion’s arrogant attitude towards the institutional and moral obligations that he has to do in the team . Generosity, of course, is out of the question, since the situation seems unfamiliar to the young man. His only hope of making amends, after the protest he has already made, will be his understanding of his insignificance in an organization based on a better human existence. The excellence of the people who make up Red Bull in particular, but also of any racing team in general, lies not in their performances or their trophies, but above all in their irresistible confidence in their contribution to something greater than themselves.