Trust, Pressure and Respect: The Relationship Between Driver and Engineer

Maximilian Günther’s Race Engineer, Cyril Blais, is a familiar voice in Formula E.

Although he’s often heard on the TV race broadcast, Cyril is rarely seen, but can be found in our garage throughout every on-track session during a race weekend.

With his headset on, and his eyes fixated on data, Cyril is at the core of each E-Prix’s strategic storm as we do battle in motorsport’s most unpredictable arena.

Despite carrying a cool, confident mentality, and always sounding calm on team radio, pressure follows Cyril on a daily basis.

His every decision carries weight, and in real-time, can spell the difference between victory and defeat.

At Formula E’s most recent race in Jakarta, however, Cyril was the voice of success, and was a key component behind our first win of the season.

More than one week on from representing Maserati MSG Racing on the podium, Cyril has reflected on his achievement to explain what it’s really like working as a Race Engineer in Formula E.  

“There’s often an assumption that we [Race Engineers] are always calm, but that’s a façade because behind the scenes, we work in a very intense environment,” he explains.

“There are countless decisions that you need to make, and there is a constant stream of information coming from every direction.

“Engineering a race is like being in an orchestra – everyone is playing their own instrument, but to find that harmony, you need to synchronise – to conduct.

“As a Race Engineer, I’m the point of communication between the driver and the team. I collect the information, dilute it to determine what is essential, and then pass the most critical information to the driver.

“I bring the tempo and the rhythm, but I need to match that to the driver too – some drivers like to be pushed, and some don’t, but adapting to a driver allows you to get the best out of them.”

To encourage the best performance, Cyril explains that communication is essential, and that determining what a driver needs to succeed can encourage and unleash their personal best.

“In our team, Edo and Max are both incredibly talented drivers who deliver an extremely high level of performance, but they have very different characters and personalities to one another.

“For Edo and Max to flourish, we need to absorb the pressure that they face so that they can do their best on track.

“I work with Max and on Sunday in Jakarta, it was my job to keep him calm. His pace was fantastic, and in the face of the challenges we had, he just needed to be reassured.

“I was in his ear, telling him that the race was under control, that we could do the job and that we could execute what was ahead of us.”

For Cyril, using information to execute is the best part of his job, as he strives to find the perfect balance to unearth and provide key details when it matters.

“Finding and presenting the essential information is the most challenging part of the job, but that’s what I love about being a Race Engineer,” says Cyril.

“You get to deal with so many different situations, but you need to make the right decision when it counts.

“There are fantastic, talented engineers all around me, we have a strong team in every area and each race is a collective effort, especially this season with the current style of racing.

“In the game of cat and mouse we see during the first half of the race, there is a lot to think about and a lot of stress.

“But I try to be a buffer between stress and the driver so we can be calm and in the right mindset to think clearly at critical moments.”

The relationship between driver and engineer is unlike any other in motorsport. It is founded upon the strongest form of trust and respect but cannot be built overnight.

“We spend a lot of time travelling and away from our loved ones, and on the road, the team becomes your racing family. You spend a lot of time together, and you get very close,” Cyril continues.

“A Race Engineer’s relationship with a driver is shaped by trust, and without trust, there won’t be any results.

“I worked with Max around 2018 and 2019 so we knew each other a little bit already, but when a driver is new to a team, it always takes a bit of time to bond.

“Whatever you say to a driver, it will always be questioned and scrutinised. They have their own judgement, and it’s good to be challenged, but there is a time and place to do it in my opinion. This is when trust is so important.

“A Formula E race weekend is entirely about execution because all of the preparation work is done before the event.

“If we did our homework correctly, we’ll execute the race week well, but if we missed the window, it will be very hard to correct that during a single-header.

“When you tell a driver what to do, they need to be 100% behind you, but it goes both ways. You need to trust one another.

“Once you find the rhythm, the dynamic can be very strong, in which a 20-minute debrief can become a five minute debrief, just because both know where they want to go to hit the sweet spot.

“Max trusts me to help give him the car he wants, and I trust him to cope with the pressure I put on him to deliver in race scenarios.

“The relationship is unique. We experience the highs and lows together, and that can transcend into a personal level.

“I believe that a Race Engineer is a key part of a driver’s support system, and that we can have a big influence on a driver’s confidence and mental state, in the good times and inthe bad.

“A driver needs to be able to rely on their Race Engineer and know that they will always be there to fight their corner. Mental coaching is part of the job.

“There are lots of different skills you need to be a Race Engineer, technically and personally. But belief and trust are super important if you ever want to achieve success.”