Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman Says F1 Engineering Beats NASA: ‘They Smoke Us’

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman stated that Formula 1 engineering surpasses NASA's level during an ESPN interview at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Wiseman, who commanded NASA's Artemis II lunar flyby mission, recently joined Mercedes as an official team ambassador on October 21. He noted that while spaceflight relies on redundancy and accepts mass penalties, Formula 1 continuously pushes both mechanical innovation and human performance to the absolute limit.

Wiseman highlighted the intense dedication of Mercedes staff and drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, suggesting NASA could learn from F1's culture and support crew physical conditioning. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's professional leadership and the dynamic between Antonelli and race engineer Peter Bonnington were also praised by Wiseman as Antonelli closes in on clinching the championship in Mexico.