Starting your career in Motorsport.

Although not the most common response when asked "what do you want to do when you're older?", Motorsport is becoming a larger and larger sporting and engineering industry every year. With Formula One shifting from the old man sport of old towards the younger generations now getting sucked in with the production of Netflix's "Drive to Survive" docu-drama and the growing presence of F1 teams on platforms like Twitter and TikTok.

I was halfway through my Masters degree in Physics when I became hooked. Motorsports was always something my Dad commondeered the living room for every other Sunday to watch a bunch of cars drive in circles for two hours. Despite being taken to an F1 event at silverstone I never caught the motorsport bug, likely because I was 4 or 5 at the time and I dont remember a lick of it.

In 2019, as a family activity we went to a BTCC weekend at Oulton Park. It was here I got my first experience (in living memory) of the noise and the smells and the atmosphere of a race weekend. The racing was excellent and there were some gnarly crashes too (everyone being healthy afterwards). I think after that day I was hooked, and it changed what I wanted to do entirely.

So where to start? Well, it depends on what you want to do in the sector! There are a tonne of different roles such as engineering, hospitality and graphic design. The list does go on! Identifying what part of the industry you would be interested in working in and then aiming to achieve that.

I now work in a trackside engineering / data analysis role, the majority of my past and present colleagues having studied mainly mechanical or motorsport engineering at university. Mechanical engineering is certainly the more broad approach, able to take it to all engineering disciplines. However, the more specialised motorsport courses are more targeted for those who want to specialise.

The most important thing to do however, is get experience anyway you can. Volunteering and applying the skills you have and learn for a small or local team is a great way to cut your teeth and start building up a portfolio of achievements to show off when applying for future positions. Most importantly, building your network of contacts is also a great asset. Motorsport is a tight knit community, and getting yourself out there and giving a good impression is a must.

Good luck with any future endevours! If after reading this you have any questions feel free to contact me :)