McLaren Racing: Putting mental wellbeing at the centre of high performance

McLaren Racing has recently announced the launch of the Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub, a state-of-the-art health and fitness centre at the team’s headquarters, the McLaren Technology Centre. 

The Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub marks a significant milestone in McLaren’s commitment to unlocking human performance and supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of its people, both on and off the track.

We caught up with Daniel Gallo, Chief People & Sustainability Officer, at McLaren Racing to find out more.

Hello, Daniel. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role at McLaren Racing?

I joined McLaren Racing in May 2019 as the Chief People & Sustainability Officer, where my role centres on working with the Executive Team to build a high-performance culture that aligns with McLaren’s vision and ambitious goals, both on and off the track. Alongside shaping our organizational culture, I’m also responsible for leading our Sustainability strategy. This involves setting industry-leading standards in environmental impact, creating a meaningful legacy in every country we race in, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that gives us a competitive edge.

Before joining the team at McLaren, I worked at Liverpool Football Club as Group HR Director. Earlier in my career, I held senior HR roles across various industries, including aviation, telecommunications and banking.

McLaren Racing recently introduced the Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub. Can you explain what it is and the motivations behind introducing it?

At McLaren Racing, our people are our biggest asset and differentiator, and creating the Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub is a direct investment in their health and wellbeing. In a high-pressure industry like motorsport, our team members need more than just technical skills; they need resilience, mental focus and – in some cases – physical endurance to perform consistently at a high level. We built this facility with all those demands in mind.

The Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub is designed to support physical and mental health, which is fundamental to driving high performance. Equipped with the latest fitness technology and staffed with on-site strength coaches and medical professionals—including a GP, physiotherapist, and psychologist—it provides the resources needed to keep our team both physically fit and mentally agile.

The facility allows our team to balance the physical demands of our work with a focus on wellbeing, ultimately helping us stay competitive on and off the track.

What has the response been to the programme from inside the organisation?

It’s relatively early days but the feedback has been fantastic. Having such an impressive facility in our office, which our employees are encouraged to use throughout the working day has been great. We’ve seen terrific uptake rates across the whole team with over 3,666 visits to the facility across October alone.

How does the club’s approach to mental health differ for drivers, the race team and the rest of McLaren Racing’s staff?

At McLaren Racing, we prioritise both the physical and mental health of our entire team, recognising that everyone—whether they’re a driver, race team member, or part of our team in Woking, has unique challenges and needs. While the nature of mental health demands may differ depending on the role, our approach to mental health support is consistent across the organisation. Drivers may face high-pressure scenarios on the track and different pressures in the public eye, while race team members deal with the stress of being on the road for over 20 weeks a year. Those based at the McLaren Technology Centre also encounter challenges unique to their roles, so we aim to ensure everyone knows they have support whenever they need it.

In addition to always encouraging open conversation around things like workload and pressures, we’ve also established an extensive network of mental health first aiders across the team to create an open and supportive environment. This initiative is company-wide, providing all team members with someone they can approach for a conversation or guidance. Our mission is to make sure every team member feels valued and supported, no matter their role. This commitment is foundational to McLaren’s culture, and it’s essential for creating a resilient, high-performing team where everyone looks out for each other.

Do you think the sport industry is doing a good job in the mental health space?

The sports industry has made great strides in the mental health space in recent years. Today, we’re seeing more open conversations, initiatives, and support structures for mental wellbeing than ever before, driven by a greater awareness of the challenges faced by athletes and professionals in the sports industry. While this progress is encouraging, there’s still work to be done across the industry to ensure everyone is fully supported.

We’ve worked to create an environment where mental health support is readily available and normalised, because we believe that to perform at the highest level, our team needs mental resilience. By establishing facilities like the Optimum Nutrition McLaren Performance Hub, we’re aiming to set a new standard for holistic support in Formula 1 and beyond. Our goal is not just to meet current expectations, but to lead the way, ensuring everyone in our team knows they have access to the support they need to thrive in this high-performance culture.

Are there any other sports, or particular campaigns, that you admire and can see doing good work in this space?

The sports industry is by its very nature high-pressured and therefore can be challenging for those working within it – whether athletes or not. That said, it has definitely improved in this space in recent years.

Several sports organizations and campaigns have been doing impactful work in the mental health space, setting a positive example across the industry. It’s fantastic to see these efforts on such a large scale.

The International Olympic Committee has done some great work in this in recent years, recognising the need to support its athletes taking part in such high-profile competition. The Paris games earlier this year was a demonstration of how this can be done effectively – offering the facilities to athletes to speak up if they are struggling with mental health and wellbeing in any way. Not only that, but athletes competing in Paris would be able to access this support in their home country for up to four years after the games. I think this is so important, as it’s key that this support continues even when all the noise dies down from the Games.

Another campaign I have seen that I thought was really impactful is in football. Norwich City FC partnered with Samaritans to create a powerful initiative for World Mental Health Day around the importance of breaking the stigma of talking about mental health. They launched the “One Minute Unsilenced,” encouraging fans to break the silence around mental health by actively engaging in conversation one minute before kick-off.

What message would you give to other organisations in sport considering a similar programme or initiative?

I think it is extremely important to actively listen to your team and engage in open conversations to understand individuals’ unique needs. Mental health support is not one-size-fits-all, it requires a customised approach based on honest feedback. This isn’t possible without a culture where team members feel comfortable speaking up about their mental health, and these initiatives are most effective when there is underlying trust, and these conversations are normalised.