S8 Ep7: Emma Gilmour - The first ever Female Driver for McLaren on Hyperfocus

This week on the Monday Mile Podcast, we are in Woking….This Mile is a little different, it’s brought us inside…to a motorsport factory. I’ll give you some clues, well I’ve already said we’re in Woking, but there’s a lot of papaya coloured logos around. The team is steeped in racing history, and today we are Lucky enough to be speaking to their first ever female driver…we are of course at Mclaren HQ, and we’re here to meet Emma Gilmour.

Emma takes us through the famous Boulevard, and gives us an insight as to what it is like to be a part of McLaren as they celebrate their 60th year. We discuss her transition from horse riding to motor racing, and how from the outside, the sport of motor racing can be perceived as dangerous. Emma also shares how having control of a car is of course, very different to that of a horse! “A horse has a mind of its own:” . We discuss the physicality of the sport, and the mindset required to excel, that being extreme focus.

We chat about the opportunity Extreme E has given female drivers as a platform to get more females in seats on the grid moving forward, "on any Extreme E grid, you’ve got 50% male and 50% female, so all these young girls at home can see that women can compete at the top level”.

Emma takes us step by step through the mental thought process, when she is at the start line, and how when it goes wrong, it can really go wrong, “I try to straighten the wheels for the impact with the hay bales, instantly you’re like 90 degrees to the track”.

For me this was a really insightful listen, and interesting to learn more about the process when it comes to taking that first step into a car, and the associated pressures which Emma has embraced and charged forward with when it comes to racing under the flag of McLaren - their heritage being fast cars, petrol and winning.

Aimee will be probing for answers from the full spectrum of routines; the early birds who have finely tuned Monday mornings, to the late risers who struggle to get up before 11am. How do elite athletes find the motivation to kick start their week come rain or shine? How do celebrities deliver no matter what the time of day? What knowledge can they pass on?

Each episode drops on a Monday morning as a bitesize piece of content and weekly dose of motivation - right when you need it. Aimee will meet each of her guests for a walk and a chat and over the course of the mile she will find out how they cope on a Monday morning - their idiosyncrasies, breakfast routines, alarm noises - and how, when they need to, find the motivation to kick-on through the week. Sharing some of Britain's greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, doctors, authors and broadcasters ’ secrets on self-motivation, candid thoughts on what they struggle with and a sideways look at some of their more unusual morning habits.

Head over to IG to watch the visuals of our episode and what we get up to on our Monday Mile. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_fuller/