Inside the F1 driver's bubble

Modern Formula 1 teams are vast operations, employing hundreds of staff all striving to be the best in the sport. Yet within those enormous organisations exists a team within a team: a tight-knit group built around helping each individual driver extract maximum performance.

Formula 1.com is going inside those bubbles to build a clearer picture of the people who work closest to the stars of the sport — the reserve drivers, the communications officers, and, in the latest instalment, the driver managers.

Carlos Onoro: manager, cousin, confidant

Carlos Onoro, who manages Williams driver Carlos Sainz, has provided a rare insight into what the job entails — and the unusual dynamic of working with a family member. Onoro is not just Sainz's manager but also his cousin, a relationship that adds a distinctive layer to one of the most demanding support roles in motorsport.

In his feature, Onoro outlines his day-to-day responsibilities, the pressures of shielding a driver from the noise of the paddock, and how he navigates the famously frenetic 'silly season' — the period of contract talks, rumours and musical chairs that defines the grid's off-track intrigue.

The wider series

The manager profile forms part of a broader Formula 1.com series examining the hidden world around each driver. Related pieces have looked at the reserve driver and the communications officer, while separate features have explored why switching off has become one of the most vital skills for F1 drivers — and how Cadillac and Haas's recent upheavals have reshaped the paddock landscape.