A process was put in place where “we could take every single incident on a racetrack and analyse it to its nth degree”. Today, F1 combines vast amounts of data and technology with what Coulthard calls its most important data point – “the human reaction”. “Hope is not a strategy,” the 55-year-old says. “You don’t apply hope when you go and sit in your safety meeting. What you do is apply and unleash all of that information.” Observing ADNOC has left a lasting impression on Coulthard. “What’s been really impressive, even before I went up on stage,” Coulthard says, “is the people-first culture that is here, and the recognition of the individuals that make up the team. “It’s very easy in companies to look at senior management, and when a company’s successful, to look to them as the reason why the company’s successful – and of course, leadership plays its part. But what's absolutely clear here with ADNOC is that leadership has spent a lot of time empowering the people that are actually out there in the front line, doing your work.” He adds: “And that is what makes a winning team. Trusting your people, empowering them.”