Brentford FC Head Coach Thomas Frank said a trip to the British Gran Prix was a learning opportunity. Thomas was joined by striker Ivan Toney and defender Ethan Pinnock at the race yesterday, Sunday 3 July. The trio were the guests of the Haas F1 team for the event held at Silverstone.
Haas managed to secure a pair of top ten finishes at the race. Mick Schumacher finished eighth for the team and Kevin Magnussen ended in tenth. A dramatic race was won by Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari.
Thomas spent the day at Silverstone and spoke to Sky Sports before the race started. He discussed his plans to talk to Magnussen, who is also from Denmark, at some point and also Guenther Steiner, the Hass Team Principal. He said it would be a learning opportunity as he could talk to both the leader of the team and one of the drivers.
“Denmark is a small country so every time one of our countrymen does well, we know about it,” explained Thomas, speaking to Sky Sports. “But I am interested in all kinds of sports, I love to learn how others work. I am fascinated by it.
“I will talk to Kevin, have a coffee, talk about how he competes in a top sport in a team with a smaller budget. I am keen to learn. I will also try to talk to Guenther.”
Thomas said there were always opportunities to learn from other sports. He said that being in as part of the Haas team for a short period had emphasized what a good strategy can do for a team. He said the same applied at Brentford.
He continued: “One thing I have learned across all sports, and I can see by being here as well, is that if you have a clear strategy, are aligned from top to bottom, work hard every single day and have good people, it is possible to have success. That is the same in any sport and in any league. I think we do that at Brentford.”
Brentford returned to pre-season training last week. The Premier League season is set to start in early August and Brentford’s first game is against Leicester City on Sunday 7 August. The Bees finished 13th in their first Premier League season last term and Thomas promised to attack every game in 2022/23. He said he was not being drawn in to any discussions from outside as to what may happen but acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“I don’t believe in any narratives,” said Thomas. “Every season in the Premier League is unbelievably tough. We will try to attack the league like we did last season. We want to add layers to our play and to improve. We want to attack every game.”
