Formula 1 team celebrates HR’s winning role

HR director makes podium finish

BY Matthew Sellers 23 May 2022

Thought of by many as the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1 is also seen as a testosterone-fuelled speedfest. Large egos, large risks, and large amounts of money make this an incredibly high-pressured workplace.

Formula 1 is also incredibly visible – following the global success of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive reality tv show TV viewing figures of the actual races has soared – as have trackside attendances. And at this weekend’s Spanish GP, which boasted over a quarter of a million attendees across three days, one very important lady was on the podium to collect a trophy, just the tenth woman ever to collect a trophy on an F1 podium.

Joanna Fleet, the HR Director at @redbullracing, becomes the 10th woman on the podium to collect the team trophy 🏆

📸 Red Bull Content Pool #SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/b2odhSvEb9
— Females in Motorsport (@FemalesinMSport) May 22, 2022

That lady was Joanna Fleet, the Red Bull team’s HR director – which shows just how much the team values the incredibly complex job she has managing superstars, mechanics and the large numbers of other employees in the company. From its now-famous principal Christian Horner (married to Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice) to its racing drivers who are paid tens of millions of dollars a year (Max Verstappen est. $50m, Sergio Perez est. $8m) Fleet has her hands full. Top of her list will no doubt be restrictive covenants as over the last few weeks questions have been asked over ex-employees who joined rival Aston Martin.

🗣️ "It would be a criminal offence."

Red Bull #F1 boss Christian Horner says the team will conduct an internal investigation into the staff who left the team to join Aston Martin, following the reveal of the upgraded AMR22 ⤵️https://t.co/sV4pudQvYP
— The Race (@wearetherace) May 20, 2022

In any event, from a sport in which it is easy to focus on an individual’s performance, it’s fantastic to see a team that recognizes the incredible importance of the HR – on the team.