Safety article for December 2025

Medical profession taps Formula 1 Racing for lifesaving technical help

It seems that Formula 1 racing and hospitals have more in common than you might expect, and it has nothing to do with them using the services in times of need.  In 2001, two doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital were struck helpless by their neonatal intensive care unit struggling with chaotic baby handovers from operating theaters. One evening, while watching Formula 1 on television, they realized something remarkable. If F1 pit crews could change tires and refuel cars in seconds with flawless communication and zero room for error, why couldn’t medical teams do the same when transferring fragile newborns?

The doctors reached out to Ferrari S.p.A in Maranello, Italy, where engineers and pit crew analyzed videos of baby handovers. The verdict? The transfers were shoddy, noisy, and uncoordinated, with no clear leadership. Medical teamwork improvement became the urgent priority, and racing mechanics became medicine’s unlikely teachers for what would be one of Formula 1’s greatest contributions to regular life.

The collaboration introduced clear leadership roles, situational awareness, formalized protocols, and data monitoring. Just like pit crews, each team member now had a precisely defined role. The results proved revolutionary, with thousands of babies’ lives saved through improved safety and efficiency in pediatric cardiac surgery worldwide.

F1 later partnered with the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff to apply pit stop techniques to neonatal resuscitation protocols. The hospital team mapped out standardized floor spaces in delivery theaters, copying the customized floor layouts Williams used at race tracks. They color-coded equipment trolleys, implemented radio checks before procedures, and introduced hand signals to replace chaotic verbal communication during critical moments.

Both scenarios require teams to work seamlessly in time-critical and space-limited environments, with Williams pit crews changing four tires in around two seconds using nearly 20 people working in perfect unison. The medical teams adopted video analysis and debrief meetings as standard practice, just like racing teams reviewing every pit stop for improvements.

This wasn’t about speed for speed’s sake, the same way Formula 1 race cars have evolved to also become safer. It was about healthcare process optimization through eliminating wasted movements, clarifying roles, and perfecting communication when seconds determine survival.

More on the subject:

https://www.autoblog.com/news/when-surgeons-learned-from-ferrari-how-f1-pit-crews-helped-save-newborn-lives

And finally, a video of a sub two-second tire change in real time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAd_t4wibM0

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all NSCC members.

Paul Ziegenhorn