Sound Track

Many a winning streak has been cut short because a player has lost his lucky sock or stepped onto the pitch with his left foot rather than his right. Thankfully 20-year-old F3 driver Callum Ilott takes a far more sensible approach to his pre-race preparations. “I try to be focused,” he says, “but not too focused. I know drivers who will only get into the car from one side – or have 45-minute routines. I just try to keep a calm mind and get on with it.”

Keeping a calm mind in a sport where earsplitting noise is an intrinsic part of the landscape can be challenging, however, especially in the lead-up to a race, when the mechanics and engineers make the final adjustments to the cars. “They’re constantly running the engines,” says Ilott, “because the cars need to be kept at a certain temperature. It can be quite annoying – so you need to step away.”

Finding a quiet moment away from your team, and all the other teams surrounding you, is therefore vital. “I’ve got these big over-ear headphones and earplugs,” Ilott explains, “so I can get that quiet without having to walk 35 minutes outside the circuit.”

Ilott, who is sponsored by Sussex-based audio specialists Bowers & Wilkins, is a firm believer in using music to get into “the zone”, that allimportant state of mind that sports psychologists maintain is key to success. “I always listen to music before a race. After that I do some stretching, try to stay relaxed and basically just enjoy it.” Is there one song that really gets him pumped up, something he absolutely has to listen to? “Anything, really. It could be rap, drum & bass, pop. Before a race though, I tend to listen to chilled-out, calm music – stuff like Nevermind by Dennis Lloyd or Oceans Away by Arizona. And I’ll put something on when I’m watching laps, if I need to focus.”

That word again. It’s no surprise that when asked whose career he would most like to emulate, Ilott cites Lewis Hamilton – another driver famed for his ability to block out everything but the chequered flag. Ilott still has a way to go before he reaches those heights, but he clearly has a bright future ahead of him. He’s a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, which nurtured three current Formula 1 drivers, and despite being only 20, is already something of a motor racing veteran.

Now in his third Formula 3 season, he’s been karting since he was seven. “My dad used to go past Rye House Kart Circuit [in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire] on the train every day,” explains Ilott, who hails from Cambridge. “One day he asked me if I wanted to give it a try.” Pretty soon, he was racing every weekend, making his competitive karting debut when he was 12 and going on to become one of the most successful karting drivers of his generation.

And his ultimate goal? “Obviously everyone wants to get to Formula One,” he shrugs. “But I just want to be the best I can be in whatever I do. My next aim is Formula 2 – that’s the next step in the chain. But, I’d also like to try a few more categories. The endurance stuff is quite appealing, and I’d like to see what Formula E is like – you know, just experience a bit of everything.”

Just for a moment, you’re reminded that Callum Ilott has only just left his teenage years – excited to see how many different cars he can race, how much fun he can have. But the steely focus quickly returns. “Obviously,” he adds, “as long as it doesn’t affect my real goal of competing in Formula 2.” Nothing, it seems, is going to distract him.

This article was taken from the Winter 2018/19 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.