'I fell in love with motor racing': Haas Team Manager on going from Preston to the F1 pit lane

Now Team Manager of the Haas F1 Team, Peter brings over two decades of elite motorsport experience to the global stage. From British Touring Cars to McLaren and Haas, he’s recognised as one of the most trusted leadership speakers in the sport—renowned for his expertise in team dynamics, compliance, and high-pressure performance under FIA regulations.

In this exclusive interview with The Champions Speakers Agency, Peter discusses the operational heartbeat of an F1 team, how businesses can model their teamwork on motorsport precision, and the role of leadership in driving consistent results on and off the track.

Q: In your experience managing elite motorsport teams, what are the core elements that define a high-performance team?

Peter Crolla: “I think the key component of a high-performance team is understanding everybody that you've got within that team, first and foremost. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses, understanding how they interact with people around them, and ultimately their job knowledge as well — and then piecing them together in the right order to come up with the best possible combination for you.”

Q: How would you describe the role of leadership in the unique high-pressure environment of Formula 1?

Peter Crolla: “Leadership in Formula 1 is really important. Everybody takes their instructions from the top down — we're effectively a true pyramid formation, and from a race team perspective, the top of that pyramid is the Team Principal.

“Now, he's got to ensure that all his respective reports interact properly and also carry out their responsibilities to the teams underneath them efficiently and without question.

“So, you could be dealing with a Sporting Director, an Engineering Director, a Director of Marketing — every element of that Formula 1 team has to interact at some point over the course of a season. And without that correct interaction, it's going to drop off at some point.”

Q: Formula 1 teams are often admired for their precision and cohesion — what practical lessons can business leaders take from F1 team dynamics?

Peter Crolla: “I think Formula 1 teams are seen as a good model for businesses to look at because we operate very efficiently. We operate with an absolute minimum of mistakes — because those mistakes are very costly to us — and due to various limitations, we have to extract the absolute best performance from every single person in that team.

“So, I think although a Formula 1 team is very unique in its business model, it also has a lot of attributes that businesses can look to copy.”

Q: Can you walk us through the scope of your responsibilities as Team Manager at Haas F1, and how your role connects operational strategy with on-track performance?

Peter Crolla: “So, as the Team Manager, it's my job to act as the conduit between my own organisation and our governing body — the FIA — and the sport's commercial rights holder, Formula One. We've got to ensure that communication between those three organisations is clear and swift, and that we all work together to produce the best possible results for all of us.

“So, on a race event, I have a number of responsibilities. I ultimately oversee the team of mechanics, the team of garage technicians, and between those groups — they are the guys who are working on the cars in the garage between sessions, they are the pit stop crew, they're the guys putting the fuel in the cars and organising tyres.

“And then during sessions, I oversee all the sporting activity of the team — ensuring that we comply with the rules at all times and also ensuring that other teams aren't gaining a competitive advantage over our drivers.”

Q: What inspired your journey into motorsport, and how did it lead to your current role in Formula 1?

Peter Crolla: “Thank you. So, my interest in motor racing started when I was about 15 and I was taken to a British Touring Car race. I instantly fell in love with motor racing and decided that was the career for me.

“I moved up through school and university, undertaking a degree in Motorsport Engineering and Management, and went into my first job as a race engineer in British Formula Three. I moved up to Team Manager, moved back into British Touring Cars as Team Manager for one of the most successful teams there, and then in 2014 moved to McLaren Racing on their Formula One team.

“Then in 2015, Haas was started and I joined as the 14th member of the team worldwide — and I've been here ever since.”

Q: When you speak to corporate or public audiences, what’s the core message you hope they take away from your story?

Peter Crolla: “I think from an audience perspective, I'd like people to understand what it is that I do, how I interact with the team around me to derive the best possible results, and hopefully find it an interesting and informative speech that they can deploy into their own work life.”

This exclusive interview with Peter Crolla was conducted by Chris Tompkins of The Motivational Speakers Agency. For More Information: Champions Motorsports Speakers