Why paid time off for Formula 1 personnel has recently become more common and how the paddock now wants to counter this trend
There’s a joke in the Formula 1 paddock that goes like this: “The gardens in England have never been as well kept as they are now!” This is a reference to the many employees who are currently on paid leave before changing employers and joining another Formula 1 team. In English, this is known as “gardening leave.”
The background to this measure is obvious: a team would rather pay an employee to do nothing for a while than have that employee go directly to the competition and disclose up-to-date information. However, if the employee is left out of the development process for six months or longer, the transfer of knowledge is limited. But now this system seems to have reached its limit.
At the moment, the problem of the many lockdown periods is greater than ever. One insider even jokes: “If we get everyone together who currently has ‘Gardening Leave’, we’ll have an eleventh team!”
Eight out of ten Formula 1 racing teams have new team bosses
This has a lot to do with the many upheavals at the top of the Formula 1 teams: In the past two and a half years, eight out of ten racing teams have had new team bosses, with only Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes) retaining their posts. And in most cases, the new managers go straight to recruiting for their new teams, with consequences for gardens in England, where most Formula 1 personnel come from
However, this also has consequences for the teams’ internal planning. Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur, for example, complained last winter: “If you bring in a new employee today, you know it will take twelve months before he can really start working for you. Only then can he make his contribution, and this contribution only becomes visible the following year.”
In principle, you have to do the math with a new employee: It can easily take “two to three years” from the time of recruitment to really visible results, says Vasseur. And this is also the view of other managers in Formula 1, which is why a rethink now seems to be underway
Criticism of the current curfew regulations
Vasseur and Co. are questioning paid time off in general because the technical requirements are now completely different to those of a few years ago. Who, for example, is supposed to check whether an employee on leave is really plucking roses in the garden or is already in virtual contact with their new employer? After all, an engineer no longer necessarily has to be on site at the plant.
Another point of criticism is the creeping transfer of knowledge that results from long lockdown periods: In the past, employees were better able to move from A to B and therefore take up-to-date information with them. This in turn resulted in more dynamism in the field because ideas spread more quickly. With lockdown periods of sometimes a year, this is now only possible to a very limited extent.
However, it is not yet possible to foresee where such considerations could lead. Nor whether the teams will even be able to agree on a different approach. But the issue is burning under the nails of many team bosses: They are all required to present results as quickly as possible – and investments in new employees should pay off just as quickly. A dilemma under the current rules of the game.
But there is one prominent exception: Adrian Newey is allowed to leave Red Bull at the end of the year without taking a break as an artist in his garden at home. But this is an exception, not the rule – especially not for an executive of his caliber.