The difference between a podium finish and trailing behind is rarely just the driver – it’s the culture, the decision making, and the relentless pursuit of “marginal gains”, says Richard Hopkins, former head of operations at Red Bull Racing.
With 78 per cent of home loans now flowing through the broker channel, the race isn’t just against the banks anymore; it’s against the fellow broker in the next lane.
As Richard Hopkins, the former head of operations at Red Bull Racing, tells The Adviser: "If you stand still, everybody else will move around you. So it's got to be a constant fight."
Hopkins, who spoke to The Adviser ahead of his keynote speech at the Better Business Summit in Sydney today (9 April), believes that whether you are managing a pit crew or a processing team, the mechanics of peak performance are identical.
When Hopkins arrived at Red Bull in 2007, he inherited a team that was "dejected" and "weren't winning races." To turn the tide, he didn't reach for a steering wheel; he reached for an engineering mindset.
"Engineering, when you break it down, is quite binary... the answer is either right or the answer is wrong. The subjectiveness goes out of the conversation," he said.
He suggested that, similarly, a broker's subjectivity could be the enemy of scale, suggesting that perceptions around which process is "correct" can cause chaos and confusion.
As such, he argues that to scale, a business must look at challenges with an engineering lens.
"We looked at challenges... in a quite binary way, and we discuss things in a 'is this the best way of doing it, or is there a better way of doing it?'"
Hopkins said that by including everyone in the team in the direction of the team - and empowering them to provide suggestions for incrememental improvement - helped curate creativity and fostered a sense of purpose.
A common trap for sole traders who have built a team is the "control freak" tax, he continues. They have their name above the door and feel every loan, every phone call, and every mistake is theirs alone to carry. As such, Hopkins suggests a shift toward clear, sports-like accountability.
"In sport, it's very easy to identify team and what team members' roles are to play... the goalkeeper is responsible for stopping balls going in the net, and it's quite clearly identified. If the goalkeeper walks off the pitch, then we'll let lots of goals in. Let’s identify those roles within an organisational structure a little bit more clearly," he proffers.
Scaling requires the "bravery to make decisions" and the humility to delegate, he continues.
"It's creating that alignment and understanding... creating that level of accountability that we’re all part of success, and it’s every single person in that organisation, not just one or two, it’s everybody."
According to Hopkins, in 2014, Red Bull was blindsided by a massive regulation change regarding hybrid engines. After years of winning, they "fell off the cliff" as the team had to pivot to acclimate to a new normal.
Brokers face similar shocks—interest rate pivots, clawback changes, or sudden compliance shifts. In those moments, Hopkins says the temptation is to panic and reinvent the wheel.
"It’s very easy to think: 'Oh, my God, everything we’re doing is wrong. We’re going to have to completely reinvent ourselves'... But in these moments, having a formalised process and structure can help steady the ship. We proved that our recipe, our formula, is working."
"I was intent on us [Red Bull] always looking within. Don’t get distracted by what’s going on on the outside. Because that can be quite literally distracting... it's having that internal focus and approach on excellence of what you’re doing."
Scale Your Business at the Better Business Summit 2026
You can find out more about how you can scale your brokerage with F1 precision at Richard Hopkins' exclusive Sydney session at the Better Business Summit 2026, run in partnership with National Australia Bank (NAB).
The Better Business Summit is the premier event dedicated to helping brokers move from "working in the business" to "working on the business." This year’s theme is all about providing the tools, tech, and talent strategies to help brokers scale effectively in a hyper-competitive market.
Richard Hopkins is the exclusive speaker at the Sydney event taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney on Thursday (9 April), bringing his "pit lane" secrets to the Australian mortgage industry.
For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.
[Related: Service-first playbook revealed for brokers]
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