Total Competition: Lessons in Strategy from Formula One
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Average rating3.8
'A must-have insight into the awe-inspiring career of a true motor racing great' Daily Express Total Competition is the most compelling, comprehensive and revealing insight into what it takes to get to the top in Formula One that has ever been published. Across four decades, Ross Brawn was one of the most innovative and successful technical directors and then team principals in Formula One. Leading Benetton, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes, he worked with drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to make them world champions. In 2017, he was appointed F1's managing director, motor sports, by the sport's new owners Liberty Media. Now, in this fascinating book written with Adam Parr (who was CEO and then chairman of Williams for five years), he looks back over his career and methods to assess how he did it, and where occasionally he got things wrong. Total Competition is a definitive portrait of modern motorsport. In the book, Brawn and Parr explore the unique pressures of Formula One, their battles with Bernie Ecclestone, and the cut-throat world they inhabited, where coming second is never good enough. This book will appeal not only to the millions of Formula One fans who want to understand how Brawn operates, it will also provide many lessons in how to achieve your own business goals.
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Ross Brawn's thoughts on F1 are golden. It's profoundly entertaining to get his take on the development cycle and the politics of modern racing.
Adam Parr's attempts to make this “Sun Tzu with wheels” unfortunately often falls flat. It's just a bit of reach to constantly compare the team principal to Napoleon, etc.
Kind of disappointed. The first part felt more like a defense and rant to the world, although it did have some very interesting stories and facts that were fascinating to me. The second part is more of generic principles which can be found in most books. Nevertheless, no regrets. Brought me closer to the world of f1!
Honestly, I find this book pretty confusing and all over the place. But that is probably due to it not being NOT A biography, nor a book about sport, but a business book, not that different from many others in the genre.
Ross Brown is a brilliant guy. He is probably not the smartest constructor in F1, but he has learned from his mistakes and climbed extraordinary heights. This book shares his journey with us and, in that, is a true gem.
Art of War references might put some readers off if you subscribe to the belief that only war is war and business can be challenging, but it's not and should not be treated as war. But Adam lays this to rest with excellent explanations, central to the story being that you should respect the competitor but fight them. But only on the track. And that the “war” only applies to external actors but never to your team and employees.
Also: Brown > Newey!
