EXCLUSIVE: Perry McCarthy; An Unbelievable F1 Journey Where the Impossible Was Made Possible

“You can win even without standing on the top step,” said Perry McCarthy when I asked him about his journey to and in Formula 1. McCarthy, had a brief stint in F1 as he drove for the troubled Andrea Moda Formula team and tested for the likes of Benetton and Williams in the 90s. He also raced in 24h of Le Mans and was destined to become GIMP but became our OG Stig. However, above all, he became a man who NEVER GAVE UP.

I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Ex F1 and Le Mans driver Perry McCarthy who fought against all odds and Bernie Ecclestone’s prediction to land in the apex of motor sports; Formula 1. The ideal path to the top step is to begin with Karting but I sat down with the audacious Briton who dreamt of the impossible at the age of 21. As humorous as he is, he picked the motor sporting world above that of the criminal one as he kept joking that these two were the only options he had. Let us take a look at his journey.

Working in North Sea Oil Rigs to raising funds for F1

The main journey for the man was trying to get to Formula One because when he discovered motor racing, he was 18 and well past his age to gain experience as a Karter and not coming from a well-to-do background was the biggest obstacle. However, a detour to Brands Hatch Circuit where the chief instructor said Perry was the best he had ever seen changed the course of his life.

But he soon realized the racing dream wasn’t going to be easy. He states, “But then of course I found out immediately that to go motor racing, you need quite a lot of money. And I didn’t have any and my family weren’t in that position. So I went to work on oil rigs.” Yes, that was the determination he had to go racing. How many racers can you name who would go to such lengths to realize their dream?

Brutal Reality Check by F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone and proving him wrong

He had another demoralizing factor waiting for him when he did come into motor racing. He states, “I was introduced to Bernie Ecclestone straight away, who was the head of Formula One for many, many years. And Bernie said to me, ‘Perry, you’re 21 years old. You’ve got no money. You’ve got no experience. You’ve got no sponsors. Your chances of making it to Formula One are about a million to one.’ “

While this could have broken any aspiring race car driver, he had a completely different outlook to it. He says, “And all I could think about is, wow, I’ve just met Bernie Ecclestone, you know? So I wasn’t about to prove him wrong, and Bernie did have a point, because really the odds were horribly high, coming in at 21. having never raced before, but it was a question of getting my head down and seeing what I could do. So immediately I went out and I was very fast, but I was an idiot. ” While the all too humble Britton explains how he made mistakes, he also got his act together very soon and became a British Formula Ford Champion! Can you imagine a champion with no Karting experience? Well, neither could Bernie.

The Brit then embarked upon his journey to find sponsors and recalls asking anyone and everyone about their background and if they were willing to sponsor his racing career. He states, “I understand the word no in 27 different languages” yet he didn’t take no for an answer and realized his dream of becoming an F1 driver.

The Birth of Stig, Top Gear; life post F1

Very much still updated with the ongoing trends and happenings of Formula 1, we had a long chat on a plethora of topics ranging from Guenther Steiner’s exit to Lewis Hamilton’s journey to F1. However, his spell as The Stig and how a random idea exchange with Jeremy Clarkson manifested in an identity that intrigued the whole UK was another standout for me.

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When I asked about him being the original Stig and how that happened, he walked us through the whole story and replied saying, “We had a book launch in London, lots of friends from Formula One and Jeremy Clarkson was there as well, who’s an old friend. And Jeremy said, ‘look, we’re gonna be bringing Top Gear back on air, the BBC TV Top Gear motoring show, which had been quite big, but it had been off there and they’re gonna bring it back. And Jeremy said, we want you to join and we’ve got an idea for you.’ ” Perry further elaborated how the production intended to call him GIMP but later went forward with Stig. The masked character became so famous and the question of ‘Who is The Stig’? became one of the top ten questions asked on the internet and Perry jokes it ranked just behind “Is there a God and am I pregnant?” which, in my opinion, is a hilarious mix to be in.

What is the Ex F1 driver up to these days

While he once rubbed shoulders with the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna, he has managed to stay relevant 3 decades after his F1 debut. I asked him what keeps him busy these days, he stated, “most of my time is spent speaking to large companies in the UK and in Europe and getting some inquiries now from India and also from America to go and tell my story and it matches with what companies are doing. You know, if they need a sales conference, if it’s about resilience, motivation, creativity, opportunities, keep going, keep pushing, try and get everything possible that you’re trying to achieve and bring other people with you.”

And it wasn’t long before he cracked another joke stating he sold “another copy of his book last month”, ‘Flat Out and Flat Broke’ can be testament to every kid who dares to dream despite no tangible means of achieving it. It was an absolute honor to sit across a man who has lived his dream. It makes you wonder can one’s goal can be achieved if one puts their mind, heart, and soul into it; Perry and his larger-than-life audacity answers that in affirmative.

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