Video: Inside Look At F1 And WEC Support

If you think about it, you realize that your success and safety on the track are the byproduct of work done by many people. And if you walk a mile in their shoes, you often realize that the work they do isn't as easy as it looks. The classic example of this comes from corner workers. In the paddock you often hear drivers complain about why a flag wasn't thrown sooner (Vettel's famous "blue flag! blue flag!" for example). But if you go out and work a corner station for a weekend, you will gain a new appreciation for the complexity, procedures and sheer hand-eye challenge of working at a flag station.

When it comes to safety gear, you'd like to believe that the companies in the business have worked hard to make sure the technical merits of their products are solid. Of course, you don't want to put fire retardant or impact resistance to the test, but if you ever have to, you'd really, really like the engineers and manufacturing workers to have been on their game.

Alpinestars recently released a short video overview of their commitment to safety and the work they do in F1 and WEC to make sure their products perform to a high standard (beyond sanctioning body requirements). With the new year having clicked over, this seemed like a nice reflection, and maybe even a bit of inspiration, to share with our readers.

Here's hoping you have a safe and fast new year, from all of us at WindingRoad.com, Winding Road Showroom and Winding Road Racing!