Working in Formula One

[prisonermonkeys]

Hey guys,

Many of you probably don't know this, but I'm currently a third-year university student, and next year is my fourth and final. As such, I'm fast approaching the proverbial crossroads, and I have to make some decisions about my future because a lot of my time next year will be spent searching for and applying to graduate positions.

Now, I've been a fan of Formula One for years; some of my earliest memories are of watching the Grands Prix whenever I could. Like every kid who watched the races, I naturally wanted to be a driver, but that obviously isn't going to happen; hell, Vettel is actually a few months younger than me. But I am interested in working in the sport, moreso on the organisational side of things as I'm doing a business degree.

I thought I might use this thread to ask if you guys have any ideas as to how I could go about getting my foot in the door. I know many teams run advertisement for positions on their websites, but many would obviously require interviews and I simply don't have the money to travel to Engalnd or Europe fr one. And I seriously doubt I'd be able to get into pitlane at Melbourne next year and start introducing myself to team bosses. It might have worked for Lewis Hamilton, but he's a driver and I'm doing marketing as my major.

Nevertheless, I'm still interested. Whether working for a team, the FIA or FOM, I'd love to work in the world of Formula One. I do have several ideas in mind as to how it could be done; start working for a manufacturer like Honda, Toyota, Renault, BMW or Ferrari and go through the ranks there, but I daresay that would take a lot of time. And while I've got all the time in the world, I'm just wondering if there isn't a surer way of doing it, such as working for the event organiser for Melbourne or a national motorsport group like CAMS.

Any ideas, guys?

 

[Alex.]

From what I've been taught at college so far, you might not want to jump straight into F1 from Uni, perhaps using a slightly smaller motorsport team (e.g. A1GP, Renault world series, SuperLeague Formula etc.to get your foot in the door of the industry rather than the exact sport itself.

 

[Scaff]

The chances of being able to jump straight into a marketing position within F1 (be it with a team, the FIA, etc) straight from Uni are to be honest low. The problem is that F1 is pretty much the pinnacle of motorsport, particularly from a marketing perspective and as such the can afford to be very picky when it comes to taking people on.

You also say, correctly, that you have a slight geographical issue, with the FIA and most F1 teams being based in Europe. I would advise taking a route that will allow you to build up to your goal, which is to look at more general Motorsport Marketing.

While F1 teams have a budget that allows them to directly employ marketing staff, most other forms of motorsport don't, as such Motorsport Marketing companies exist the world over, these companies are far more likely to take on a fresh graduate and will allow you to learn the ropes and build up a portfolio of work. Gaining experience in this way will allow you to fight for the few jobs that do arise in F1 from a much stronger position.


Regards

Scaff

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The chances of being able to jump straight into a marketing position within F1 (be it with a team, the FIA, etc) straight from Uni are to be honest low. The problem is that F1 is pretty much the pinnacle of motorsport, particularly from a marketing perspective and as such the can afford to be very picky when it comes to taking people on.

Oh no, I get that ... I'm not the most articulate person in the world; what I meant was that working in the sport is the end goal, where I want to be. I know it's not going to be a one-step process, but what I'm trying to work out is how to get to that point. But I do like this thing about motorsport marketing, I very much imagine that if I worked for the oranisaion promoting one Grand Prix, I'd be able to find a way into the companies ecause they'd have to have some assciation.

But please, keep the ideas coming.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

My cousins husband works in marketing for Red Bull Racing and he used to work for McLaren. He actually got the job starting as a work experience kid back in the '80s, I believe he said it was at the British GP. I doubt it would be that easy to get a job in F1 these days. As others have stated, you would probably have a better chance of getting into F1 by climbing the ranks. But you never know what could happen. Also, I guess living in Australia might make it a bit challenging, good luck. 👍

 

[TheCracker]

Why don't you contact the HR departments of the V8 Supercar teams? As Australia's biggest race series, the biggest teams are bound to have their own marketing departments. If they don't have any positions i'm sure some would take you on as work experience or at least give you some good advice on what to do.

Getting in on the ground floor with one of these internationally known teams would open doors world wide for you to progress your career and perhaps eventually lead to a position within an F1 team?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Getting in on the ground floor with one of these internationally known teams would open doors world wide for you to progress your career and perhaps eventually lead to a position within an F1 team?

I do know Triple Eight Race Engineering has a British outfit as well. Can't speak for the rest of them, but I daresay they'd be the easiest to go through because you could probably do an internal transfer over to the UK and take it from there.

But that's all just speculation.

 

[TheCracker]

I do know Triple Eight Race Engineering has a British outfit as well. Can't speak for the rest of them, but I daresay they'd be the easiest to go through because you could probably do an internal transfer over to the UK and take it from there.

But that's all just speculation.

Yes, Triple Eight are a British based company with an HQ bang slap in the middle of 'motorsport valley' where half the current F1 teams are based. So it would be a good area to start.

Autosport Magazine (a UK mag) has dozens of F1 jobs advertised every week. If you managed to get relocated to the UK through working with 888, i'm sure plenty of other opportunities would arise.