
Gary Foote
Gary is the CIO of the Haas F1 team but as it is a small team, he wears many hats and is also responsible for facilities, logistics, supply chain, sustainability, etc! Even though Gary has the enviable trait of looking very young, he has in fact been in F1 for over 20yrs and can therefore talk about all aspects of F1, including innovation, data/tech/AI, leadership, teamwork/collaboration, change/transformation, mindset, adaptability. Prior to Haas, Gary worked for the Mercedes F1 team, so he has experience of big and small teams and he can bring fascinating examples from both.
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Gary Foote's 2025 biography
Meet Gary Foote
Gary Foote is the Chief Information Officer and Sustainability Lead at the Haas Formula 1 Team. Since 2016 he has been responsible for all technology systems, services, teams and staff for Haas F1’s global operations, across sites in the UK, US, Italy and trackside. Reporting directly to the Team Principal, Gary’s role is pivotal in ensuring the Haas team benefits from best-in-class technology solutions within this data-driven sport.
After studying BSc (Hons) Computer Science with Networks at the University of Derby, Gary joined Cosworth Technology as a Trackside Systems Support Engineer. Within this role, he gained experience at the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport championship as a Primary Trackside Support Engineer, while also providing ad-hoc support in numerous racing series such as FIA-GT, WRC, BTCC, WTC and MotoGP.
In 2008, Gary became a Trackside IT Engineer for Honda Racing F1’s Test Team, which involved travelling to all tests and several races to maintain trackside IT infrastructure.
Having joined the Brawn GP F1 team as a Senior Technical Systems Engineer, Gary played a role in the team’s 2009 FIA F1 World Championship victory. As a Senior IT member of a small but dedicated IT team, he provided hands-on support and project management to Brawn GP.
In 2011, Gary moved to Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Initially working as an IT Support Desk Manager, he became Trackside IT Manager in 2012, followed by becoming the IT Service Delivery Manager in 2015.
Responsible for IT service, both at the track and at UK headquarters, Gary played a part in assisting the team to achieve consecutive FIA F1 World Championships.
Gary holds several positions outside of his role at Haas. As well as being a member of the board trustees of SSNAP (an Oxfordshire charity specialising in neonatal care), Gary is a trustee at Tove Learning Trust, a multi–Academy Education Trust.
A strong supporter of diversity and STEM education, he also volunteers as a coach, mentor, and guide to a group of students aged 8 to 14 who are competing in the UK FIRST Lego League (FLL) competition.
As well as his diverse and extensive work experience in the technology and motorsport industries, Gary is a Fellow of the British Computing Society, and he has been recognised as one of the top 100 Chief Information Officers in the UK in both 2021 and 2022.
Gary Foote's 2025 talks & topics
Leadership
The requirements of Formula One’s team leaders have changed significantly in recently years as teams have become larger, more complex, and the business model to which the sport operates has been transformed. The leaders in F1 today are responsible for leading up to 1800 full time employees, creating a high-performance organisation which is fully aligned behind a strategy aimed at achieving a set of well defined, ambitious goals.
Competitive team leaders create a culture in which team personnel take responsibility and are happy to be held accountable for their performance. Developing a high degree of psychological safety is key, requiring staff to speak up and speak out, with strong cross functional communications. A relentless focus on continuous improvement is part of the F1 leaders mindset, and teams take a data-driven approach to measuring performance, highlighting issues and analysing developments. But whilst F1 is a technocentric sport, the successful leaders recognise that it is the people who make a difference. This is why so much effort is deployed to create an environment within which employees thrive, using their combined talents to problem solve and create highly innovative solutions in order to drive competitive advantage.
Teamwork/Collaboration
Competitive Formula One teams comprise 1800 staff, less than 10% of whom attend the race events, so teamwork requires complete alignment, shared purpose and close collaboration across the business. The world championship includes 24 Grands Prix and these represent a series of non-negotiable deadlines which the entire organisation has to meet in terms of car development, hardware and software upgrades. The ultimate, public example of high-performance teamwork comes in the form of the mandatory pit stops which have to be performed during a race – the record now stands at 1.8 seconds during which 22 staff carry out 36 tasks under extreme pressure.
Alignment behind the team’s strategies and ambitious goals is vital, so too having the agility to flex strategy in the face of constant changes in technology and the performance of competitors.
Data-driven performance & Innovation
More than any other sport, Formula One has embraced a data-driven business culture, particularly with its near obsession with marginal gains and continuous improvement. F1 teams use data to enable drivers, engineers and HQ staff to determine precisely how the car and driver is behaving, diagnose issues, resolve problems and speed up decision making. As information flows seamlessly around the globe, linking car, team and factory, tech security is essential and robust systems ensure protection from multiple threats.
The use of simulators has transformed driver training, enabling systems to be learned, tested and developed in a virtual environment prior to real-world deployment. And with the advent of additive manufacturing, machine learning and AI across F1, the sport’s use of technology to innovate and transform all aspects of its operations is set to accelerate further.
Safety & Risk Management
Safety is a first order priority in Formula One and the last 25 years have seen a profound change to the way in which the sport manages risk. Between 1950 and 1994, there were over 40 driver fatalities at races; there has been one since. This has been made possible by creating clear priorities as regards safety. Compliance is non-negotiable. Safety is not an area of competitive advantage. Safety systems, processes and technologies are shared so that F1 doesn’t have islands of excellence in oceans of mediocrity.
However, the risk averse teams never win in F1 – the teams which embrace and manage risk are more likely to try new things, innovate in ways both small and large, and ultimately drive competitive advantage. It’s the difference between participating and competing. The other factor is ‘fear of failure’. Teams that have a blame culture create such a degree of fear that everyone minimises their contribution and hides their mistakes, whereas those which thrive on creating a learning environment of continuous improvement have a degree of openness, honesty and transparency which promotes creativity and innovation, and taking risks, in a controlled way.
Change & Transformation
Every industry is witnessing change and Formula One is no different. One of the challenges facing F1 teams is that the sector is ever-changing – so change management and leading teams through periods of transformation is an essential part of the job. Change comes in many forms; technology, compliance, competition, customer demands, environmental and social issues. F1 has had to reinvent its business model, embrace digitalisations, adapt to a changing media and social landscape. Above all, F1’s leadership teams have had to communicate, manage and implement transformation strategies, bringing their teams with them and ensuring that they make the most from embracing change.
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
Often perceived as a male-dominated sport, Formula One has invested heavily in gender diversity, also generating equal opportunities and inclusion for anyone from an under-represented group or background. That journey began over 20 years ago with initiatives including F1 In Schools and Formula Student seeking to motivate children of school age as well as undergraduates from every background to consider a career in Formula One.
The Formula 1 Academy , launched in 2023, is developing female talent across the sport, whether as future F1 drivers, engineers or management, The sport’s governing body, the FIA, operates the FIA Girls on Track programme, again providing young women and girls from around the world with opportunities across motorsport. Individual Formula 1 team are also running important, game-changing initiatives, including Mercedes F1’s ‘Accelerate ‘25’ programme which aims to ensure that 25% of all new employees are selected from under-represented cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
Seven times World Champion Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver to compete in Formula 1, has worked with Mercedes to creative mentorship and educational programmes for girls’ schools in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Hamilton’s Mission 44 organization has set about driving structural change with motorsport to ensure that anyone of colour can develop career opportunities in Formula 1. Meanwhile Race Pride charity has attracted widespread support from Formula 1 and its constituent teams, supporting the LGBTQIA+ community across the industry.