Move over Rodin, here comes Gibson - Grand Prix Magazine

Alastair Gibson, the chief mechanic of the Honda Formula 1 team for the last 10 years, has decided to retire from the sport. His new goal is to become the world’s leading carbonfibre sculptor.

Originally from South Africa, Gibson grew up surrounded by the sport. His father was an F1 mechanic and Alastair decided to follow in his footsteps, working his way up through the junior formulae before joining the Benetton Formula 1 team in 1995. After three years he moved on to Tyrrell. Soon afterwards the team was taken over by British American Racing and Gibson moved to Brackley to be chief mechanic of the ambitious new operation.

He began his sculpting before joining the F1 world and gradually developed his ideas using old F1 car parts to create a series of shark sculptures. Each work is unique and can raise as much as £15,000. Nowadays his designs are sold before they are built. At the same time, Gibson has been developing new ideas and believes that composite materials are the future for sculptors.

What was once just an unsual hobby is now becoming a career. The success of the sharks and the potential of composite works had led Alastair to decide to follow his dream. He plans to settle in Dublin, where there are special tax rates for artists, and is already working to develop the technology to be able to sculpt hands from carbonfibre materials, using manufacturing knowledge he has gained from Formula 1 manufacturing processes in the world of art.

Grand Prix Magazine