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Chapter 11
Mark Gallagher and David Coulthard
The death of Ayrton Senna was watched by 200 million people on live TV which was reputed to be the largest live audience to watch a fatality.
In the aftermath of the deaths and several other serious accidents, Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone got together and issued a statement that their ambition and target was to eliminate to zero the fatality of future drivers.
At this point, everything became about prevention, mitigation and consequently the design of the car. The result of all this work on safety led to improvements in the cars that we drive today, that have been crash tested from the learnings in Formula One. The improvements in safety led to increases in performance.
Mark Gallagher and David Coulthard have had a different but amazing journey in an industry where safety and performance co-exist.
By Harvey Thorneycroft
Chapter 11: Mark Gallagher and David Coulthard
Mark Gallagher
I was lucky enough at the same time as meeting Martin Elliott to get to know Mark Gallagher, who was able to tell me first-hand what he had witnessed in terms of safety in Formula One that, like Martin said, led to improvements in performance and of course team dynamics. Mark had worked in senior management roles within Formula One motor racing over the last 30 years and someone I had met in my old world when he was commercial director, with Jordan Grand Prix team, on a ski trip at the famous and newly opened five-star Hotel Le Kilimanjaro, on the Pralong ski slope of Courchevel 1850. The team were there in December when I took a group of executives on an incentive trip. I had grown up with Andy Stevenson, who alongside Mark, worked for the characterful Eddie Jordan.
Mark had other roles running the world-famous Cosworth engine business and establishing the commercial arm of Red Bull Racing, which went on to become World Champions four times. Today, he is co-commentator and Formula One analyst for BBC 5 Live and a contributor to Sky Sports F1 in the UK, a broadcaster for ESPN in the USA, as well as founder and CEO of Performance Insights.
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