I grew up in Adelaide, which hosted the Australian Grand Prix until 1995. I lived close to the track. From my house, I could hear the cars screeching. It was a huge spectacle and it felt as if everyone followed it in some way. I got to watch the racing on a couple of occasions, but as I grew older drifted away from the sport.

Today I live in Melbourne, where the race is now held. Being here has helped me to reconnect with the sport. I knew Formula One was coming to town so I asked the McLaren team to let me shoot with them. I explained that I was interested in understanding the team, not just photographing the race. I didn’t want to shoot your typical F1 shot. I was amazed when they agreed.

They let me scope out the garage and track in advance, so I had this shot composed and framed well before the race. Everything moves so quickly: without that time to plan, you’re never going to get the shot you need. I knew I would have only a matter of seconds, which is pretty difficult on the medium-format Hasselblad I use. It’s a slow camera that’s more often used for landscape photography than sport, let alone something as quick as F1.

Race day is intense. It’s hot and loud and everything can change in an instant. When you get into the garage, you need to have your wits about you. It’s a high-performing team with lots of people in a confined area working under immense pressure. You might be there to get the shot – but they are there to win.

The second thing that’s interesting is that about 90% of the people watching are looking through their phones

I watched the race from atop the pit wall, nervously waiting for the moment. McLaren had two drivers in the race: Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. My work depended on them making a stop, which itself depended on a bunch of tactical considerations outside my control. A mechanical fault meant that Sainz had to retire early. That left me with one chance: the only stop Norris made in the entire race. It lasted 2.7 seconds. I had one press of the button. Thankfully, I kept my cool and it came off.

When most people think about Formula One, they think about the drivers. But in this shot, you have 15 guys who are immensely skilled, profoundly dedicated and critical to the success of whoever’s in the driver’s seat. They work a punishingly long season, and this captures their perfect synchronicity. There’s no space or time for ego. Everyone has to work as a unit. And this is only one aspect of a massive operation. Outside of the race team, there’s everyone who helped build the car, as well as a huge data centre in the UK monitoring race stats in real time and advising on tactics.

The second interesting thing about the shot is that about 90% of the people watching are looking at the scene through the cameras on their phones. I found that extraordinary. They had the best seats in the house, at one of the world’s most coveted events, but they’re still witnessing it through technology. There was a disconnection there that I found fascinating, as if being able to show people you were seeing this was as important as actually seeing it.

I hope the shot is a new way of looking at the sport. A few years ago, I became fascinated with hyperrealistic painting – works you couldn’t distinguish from photographs. It got me thinking whether I could work the other way round, turning photography into something flatter, more illustrative, more ambiguous. I set out to challenge myself – physically, mentally and as a photographer. I came away from the Grand Prix a better artist.

Ben Thomas’s CV

Born: Adelaide, Australia, 1981.

Studied: “3D animation in Adelaide, but I’m a self-taught photographer.”

Influences: “The paintings of Jeffrey Smart and David Hockney.”

High point: “Last year, I was named a Hasselblad Master, a dream come true.”

Low point: “When I lost inspiration and stopped shooting for a year.”

Top tip: “Stick with it through thick and thin. Persistence is everything.”





