BRAD JONES Racing driver Todd Hazelwood has honestly discussed the mental challenges he’s faced during the Coronavirus-enforced shutdown of Australian Motorsport.

WORDS: Richard Craill

Speaking to the On the Grid Podcast, Hazelwood said that, like many others in the workforce faced with losing their jobs or having their work suspended, he also went into a ‘scary place’ when it was confirmed that at least a portion of the 2020 season would be postponed.

“To be honest I was in a bit of a scary… not a scary place but a dark place when it got announced that we weren’t racing,” he said.

“All of a sudden you get out of routine and you start wondering and thinking about it too much, I suppose.

“(It’s) kind of like losing your job. For me, it’s looking too far down the track of uncertainty. When there’s uncertainty it can do crazy things to the mind and you start overthinking certain scenarios, what might happen and where the sport may be in say twelve months’ time or 24 months’ time – you don’t know.”

Hazelwood spent much of his junior with his family working to raise funds to support his racing, most famously selling sausages to help raise budget when not at the circuit.

He admitted that the uncertainty of the current situation, coupled with the timing relative to his current position on the Supercars grid, made him nervous.

“For me I’ve invested so much of my youth getting to this point now and I finally feel like I’m in a position to hopefully keep pushing forward to make a career for myself – but I’m still in that phase where I don’t feel like I’ve made it fully yet.

“So I need to keep working hard and using every day to keep improving and keep moving forward.

“When you get put into this position when there’s a whole heap of uncertainty and you don’t really know what’s going to happen in the future, it is a bit scary.”

He did add, however, that the Supercars eSeries has been a worthy distraction from the unscheduled off-season, as well as an enjoyable – and competitive – outlet.

Hazelwood also discussed his improving form in the BP Supercars All Stars eSeries and how the move to Brad Jones Racing – despite only logging one round with the team so far – had been a hugely positive experience.

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