Travelling on Bernie Ecclestone’s private jet to a meeting at Ferrari or standing below the podium at the Australian Grand Prix, where his driver finished third, are just two reminders of how much Adam Parr’s life has changed.

Two years ago he was a senior executive at Rio Tinto; now he is chief executive of the WilliamsF1 team and has been officially named by racing legend Sir Frank Williams as the key man in his succession plan. The worlds of mining and F1 are poles apart, but Mr Parr has made the experience and skills acquired in one career serve in another.