Trying a career in F1

hi guys,

i hope you"ll be able to give me a helping hand with that. I know nobody likes reading huuge posts, thus i"ll try to make it as short as possible.

I am aiming at a career in Formula 1. Not as a driver of course, much more as a member of an F1 team. I"m about to complete my Bachelor"s degree in germany, in Marketing. At present I"m sending covver letters anD CV"s to as many companies as possible. I tried williams and sauber, but they were looking for no interns at the moment. I sent my application to STR and Ferrari, because no other current f1 team is giving an opportunity for interns to even have a chance. In the meantime I'd also sent applications to BMW, DAIMLER and I"m currently planning on sending another one or two.

My problem:

I"m a little bit concerned that I am aiming too high, too early in my career. Therefore i think the chance of getting taken by any of those companies I mentioned, is pretty slim. So where do you think I should start my professional experience at. Any companiy names as suggestions ?Or maybe other pieces of advice ? I know there isnt a receipt for becoming a new Monisha Kaltenbom or Dieter Zetsche, but I"m just interested in what you think I should start with, guys.

Thanks you in advance

Regards
Mitko

Since you're in Germany, perhaps try and look at the DTM first? Having motorsport experience would look great on your CV if you want to get into F1, I think, and you can also build some good contacts.

But you might need a few years in the general workforce before you can get into motorsport, it just depends if you're lucky with timing.

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X (@ed24f1)

Does anyone know how to become part of the pit crew team?

Due to the strict staff number restrictions, I'm pretty sure most of the pitcrew have other roles such as minor engineers, mechanics etc, they're not specialists.

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X (@ed24f1)

Why not first a F3 team?

Most would either have done a degree in motorsport engineering or aerodynamics or come up from the bottom of the ladder (working with a team, often for free, in support races for a small local series) and worked their way up as the team moved on to bigger series.

Think about how many racing series there are under the top-level series, how many cars are in each and how many team members must support each car. There will be thousands of people working in F1, but tens of millions in other series.

Sorry to say it, but you'd have to be highly specialised or sought after to make it to F1 on anything other than a work placement.

It also helps if you're completely and utterly obbsessed with getting a career in F1, you need to be knocking on doors, sending letter's etc almost to the point of pestering. Remember no opportunity is too small even it means you basically start out sweeping the floor of the garage for some grass roots race team, treat it as a chance to build contacts within the industry. Also if you're a workaholic that'd be a bonus.

thank you a lot for your time, guys. When i write my applications i dont specificly define "I want to work in formula 1" , because I know it is a team of highly educated people (what is maldonado doing there then, hihi). What i do is write that I would like to make an internship in the motorsport (so that they can place me at DTM, F3 or whatsoever).

I was just wondering, wheter it is the way to go. But in a month time i will be able to tell you for sure

I've always wondered what the absolute cut-off age is for starting working towards successfully becoming an F1 driver(literally, from the age you'd first start karting at). I'm guessing it's about 10-12 if you're serious about it.
Or about 30 if you're Damon Hill.

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Most start well before that even.

Most of the staff working in F1 have heaps of experience in various other sectors BEFORE moving to F1.

Very few begin with F1 as their starting point.

Mechanics range from ex-truck haulage drivers to local spare tyre fitters. Groomed and worked their way up through various smaller motorsports, and then into F1.

Experience counts for everything these days. No matter how small, it counts!


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

wooow ! VW (volkswagen) were brutal today !! i called to ask, wheter there is a chance to make an initiativ applying for an internship. And when i was told NO, i only wanted to ask as to wheter the VW Motorsport team is looking for marketing,PR, comm-on graduates in general. And the HR- Employer (an extremely unfriendly woman) told me .. well if you ask me antoher question i will have to hang down the phone (or how do you say in english). And she added, "ALL the internship places are already given away UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR !!. "

I couldnt even ask what is the point in applying for an intern in general then ?? When all the vacancies are given away 10 days after the start of the year !

Maybe you caught someone on a bad day. Don't be put off by that experience keep pushing.

Well she's making Volkswagen, her employer, sound good isn't she? :P maybe she had a lot of calls like that, and was fed up with answering them...

I'm doing motorsport engineering at uni, I was given advice on applying to other companies. They said that, as prestigious as the big companies like Volkswagen are, you're better off applying to the smaller companies. Because the small companies don't have so many people working for them, you get opportunities for experience in a LOT more areas. But, if you get accepted by a big company, you only tend to work in one small area.

So my advice, is to look to some smaller companies first...

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You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]

spot on ! i completed my internship in a big company in Munich. Afterwards i had the chance to experience the working environment in a smaller one, as a part time worker parallel to my study. And i can only confirm that working in a smaller company is a heck a lot more insights and you can experience as you said a lot more areas of the daily work. However, if you're aiming at motorsport, as I am, i dont think there is a small company in there ?!! I cant recall a company which is only wokring in motorsport. Most of them have it as a part of the whole corporate group, ferrari, VW, even companies such as monster or red bul etc, etc, etc.

I would be grateful thow, if you could give me a hint on some smaller companies in motorsport.

Some (maybe) useful info from my own experience...

I (regretfully) declined a final interview for McLaren for an architecture job working on the (now built) extension of the technology centre in 2010.

That was advertised in April 2009, to begin March 2010. That's nearly a YEAR in advance!

I also declined a placement for a voluntary internship for a wildlife island clinic at school that needed 10 months advance.

To give an idea the sort of organising and planning that goes into this, I have found specifically labelled 'internships' and those that are sponsored/in sought after or elusive areas have a lot of interviews and stages as opposed to regular jobs and work experience in smaller fields.

You can't really call up and ask for a job as such. Try, but don't expect much!

Usually they have their own in-house programs that are advertised in specialist magazines geared towards the sort of people they want doing the job.

Companies want the people to be good at what they do; and be the right people. If you have the skill to find the jobs; or request specific things, almost like a treasure hunt, they do turn up!

Like the Mercedes GP 'Painter' job going earlier this summer. Literally, a paint spraying decal applying role, with hands on helping design the 2012 livery. AMAZING. Advertised hidden on their own website.

Basically, if it is a tough or highly competitive area, you need to be thinking long term. So you ought to be looking for a placement next year.

For now, build up your experience portfolio elsewhere. Small firms, etc. If no jobs exist, make your own work up. Practice.

I am not sure what marketing you are in, can you be more specific with your skills/interests?

I also would question how strong your english language reading and writing skills are. Not be be rude, but these are VITAL.

I'm no grammar nazi, but your first post was riddled with errors. A lot of firms literally throw things in the bin the second they see mistakes. Harsh, but true.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2012 06:00PM by danm.

It doesn't really even have to be F1. They will consider all kinds of experience with motorsports.

Take my example. I live in Southern California, a place you'd think is very far removed from the world of Formula One. Yet not even 10 minutes away from where I live is a manufacturing firm that design and make intake and exhaust valves for almost every major racing series, including NASCAR, Le Mans, and, of course, Formula One.

Now while I may be shooting for engineering, I think this could still apply. The racing world is larger than most people think. However it is all uniquely connected in a special way. I have been trying this company for quite sometime, even offering volunteering, simply because the experience will give me a leg up over most other applicants for major teams. Also, degrees are nice too, which I'm still plowing through (being a freshman in college doesn't help much either).

The other day I actually found an entire site dedicated to job openings in Formula One. It has everything from FEA engineers to public relations.

Whatever happens, good luck mate! I hope you realize your dream.

Here's the url to that special site. [f1jobs.com]


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Yes, thank you for noticing I am the most amazing being in the galaxy.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

Albert Einstein.

Now think how many people will click that link...


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2012 11:06AM by danm.