<p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/daxshepard/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240429-pod-daxshepard&utm_content=240429-pod-daxshepard-podfeed"> View the Show Notes Page for This Episode</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240429-pod-daxshepard&utm_content=240429-pod-daxshepard-podfeed"> Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content</a></p> <p><a href="https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=240429-pod-daxshepard&utm_content=240429-pod-daxshepard-podfeed"> Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter</a></p> <p>This is a special episode of The Drive with Peter's friend and fellow car enthusiast Dax Shepard. In this podcast, which commemorates the 30th anniversary of the death of Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, Dax sits down with Peter to better understand what made Senna so special and why Peter remains an enormous fan. This conversation focuses on Senna's life, the circumstances of his death, and his lasting impact and legacy on the sport of F1.</p> <p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Peter's interest in motorsports began as a child [2:30];</li> <li>The drama and dangers of F1 [6:00];</li> <li>What made Senna special [13:00];</li> <li>What Senna meant to Brazilians [24:00];</li> <li>The cause of the fatal crash [28:15];</li> <li>Why Peter is obsessed with Senna [40:30];</li> <li>Being the best versus having the best record [43:30];</li> <li>Senna's unique driving style and incredible intuition about automotive engineering [46:30];</li> <li>Back to the day of the dreadful race [53:00];</li> <li>What Peter believes caused the crash [1:02:45];</li> <li>Views on dying young, in the prime of life [1:13:00];</li> <li>Senna lives on in his foundation and in safety changes adopted by F1 [1:21:00];</li> <li>Statistics aren't enough for fandom, and why people like who they do [1:24:15];</li> <li>The biggest difference between F1 today and F1 in the 80s [1:28:30];</li> <li>Senna's driving superpower [1:30:30];</li> <li>The fastest drivers currently in F1 [1:38:30];</li> <li>Current F1 obsessions [1:45:00];</li> <li>How hard it is to do what the top F1 drivers do [1:50:15];</li> <li>Dax's love of motorcycles and his AMG E63 station wagon [1:52:15];</li> <li>Awesome Senna mementos from Etsy [2:01:15];</li> <li>What makes specialists interesting, and Max's devotion to F1 [2:10:15];</li> <li>What Senna might have done if he had not died that day [2:14:00];</li> <li>Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen are also top F1 drivers [2:17:30];</li> <li>Interlagos in Sao Paulo Brazil is always an incredible experience [2:18:45]; and</li> <li>More.</li> </ul> <p>Connect With Peter on <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/peterattiamd/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8kGsMa0LygSX9nkBcBH1Sg">YouTube</a></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate ‘Goldfish’ Mindset
In high-performance situations, practice a ‘goldfish’ mindset to immediately forget mistakes and prevent them from compounding psychologically, as dwelling on errors can lead to further performance degradation and self-doubt.
2. Find Activities for Presence
Engage in activities that demand complete focus, like track riding, to achieve an elevated state of clarity and presence, effectively silencing daily anxieties and problems, similar to the benefits of meditation.
3. Prioritize Life’s Richness
Consider evaluating life’s quality not solely by its duration, but by the richness of experiences, challenges, and heightened moments, as a long, uneventful existence may be less fulfilling than a shorter, more impactful one.
4. Utilize Compartmentalization for Focus
Develop strong compartmentalization skills to fully immerse in a task, ruling out external distractions, problems, and anxieties, which can enhance performance and mental clarity in demanding situations.
5. Define Goals for Hobbies
Before engaging in hobbies or passions, define clear goals or milestones to satisfy your ego and provide a sense of accomplishment, rather than pursuing them aimlessly.
6. Master Precise Technical Feedback
Cultivate the ability to provide remarkably precise and reliable technical feedback, as exemplified by Senna, who even monitored other drivers’ feedback to ensure car development wasn’t compromised.
7. Sustain Dedication Beyond Competition
Emulate Max Verstappen’s extreme dedication by continuing to practice and refine skills, even after achieving success, such as engaging in simulator racing for hours after winning a real-world race.
8. Embrace Novice Status in Hobbies
Find joy in being ’lousy’ at new hobbies, as it keeps the learning curve steep and provides continuous opportunities for growth and improvement, fostering a sustained sense of engagement.
Formalize your charitable giving by establishing a foundation or structured approach, as Senna intended, to ensure long-term impact and efficient allocation of resources to causes like education.
10. Balance Perfectionism, Avoid Over-Pushing
Learn from Senna’s intense pursuit of perfection, even when victory is assured, but recognize that over-pushing can lead to costly errors and extreme self-criticism, emphasizing the need for balanced focus.
11. Appreciate F1 Beyond Podium
To enhance your F1 viewing experience, focus on the drama and importance of positions below the podium (e.g., 14th to 8th place), as these battles for points are crucial for teams and drivers.
12. Grasp F1 Precision
To better understand the unfathomable margins in F1, try to double-click a stopwatch as fast as possible, which helps contextualize how tiny a hundredth of a second is and the incredible precision required in racing.
13. Support Ad-Free Content
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14. Unique ‘Stab the Gas’ Technique
Senna employed a unique ‘stab the gas’ technique when exiting corners, rapidly tapping the throttle before going full power. This was hypothesized to reduce turbo lag and maintain high RPMs, allowing quicker acceleration, though its effectiveness persisted even with naturally aspirated cars.