• INSIGHT: How an F1 Team Debriefs After a Race

While Formula One is always striving to look ahead, it's important to reflect on what's just happened over a race weekend to see what can been learned. But how do the teams do this?

Whether a Grand Prix has gone well or not, there's always plenty for F1 teams to talk about, examine and analyse once the dust has settled and they return to base. Breaking down the major storylines is a crucial element of the post-race process.

Of course, positive points need to be highlighted, praised and applauded. But, in the constant strive to be the best out there, examining what went wrong and where there is room to improve is much more important.

The first few days back at HQ are dominated by debriefs and meetings. People hop from one meeting room to another to ensure everyone has caught up on what happened over the weekend - both at the track and the factory - and move forward from there.

The various departments gather in their offices to run through their own work and output in detail. But 14:00 local time in Brackley every Monday after a race is reserved for a very special meeting: the all-team debrief.

Well over 500 people descend on the race bays every fortnight (or so) to hear from one of our senior Technical Directors, who run through pre-race expectations, what happened over the course of the weekend, key learnings to take from it and what's coming up next.

Another element of the all-team debrief is an open question forum. Team members are encouraged to submit questions in advance, which are then answered by the speaker(s) hosting that day. So, if there are any queries from the race weekend, it's a great chance to get the inside scoop.

Of course, with the various working patterns of the factory, not everyone can make the 14:00 meeting. So there's a night shift debrief at 21:00 each night, hosted by the same senior Technical Director who spoke earlier in the day. It's a much smaller crowd, usually around 40 people, but covers the same topics.

Because there are fewer people, the night shift debrief has a much more relaxed vibe and there are usually quite a few more questions being put to the host of the meeting as a result.

Over the proceeding days, numerous other department debriefs take place to really examine the weekend's work in minute detail. Of these, one of the biggest is the Race Debrief on Monday morning, which is attended by up to 50 people.

Debriefs take place at the circuit after each day of on-track running - but Monday's meeting allows the dust to properly settle on the events of the previous weekend and provides the team with more time to find out answers.

It brings together people who were at the track, back at base and heads of departments from around the company, combining their inputs and perspectives to showcase a full overview of exactly what went down. Good race or bad, there's always a lot to talk about.

The debrief covers a wide variety of points. From race stats to key learnings on both the chassis and Power Unit side and what the focus is for the next round of the F1 calendar, there's a lot to cover in just one hour.

There's a core group of speakers each time but everyone is free to comment and share their thoughts. It's a collaborative effort and an important chance to bring together all of the learnings, feedback and viewpoints from the hectic race weekend. Getting everyone together in one room is a rare occurrence, so they have to make the most of the opportunity.

This is followed by a Performance Debrief on Thursday, which breaks down the performance of the team in more detail and is even more in-depth than Monday's get together. A smaller group gather for this one, around 20 or so people.

From there, departments break off and conduct their own reviews of the weekend's events, focusing on their own work and outlook. From Marketing to Digital Technology, Composites and Aero There are so many different areas of the team and all of them must work together in harmony and to the best of their abilities in order to make sure the race weekend runs to plan.

For such a high-tech and rapidly evolving sport, it's easy to be focused on what's ahead - the next corner, the next race, the next challenge and the next opportunity. But, as the old cliché goes, you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been...