When we launched Fluidjobs back in June 2024 (time flies!), we began with a survey to help people see how “hireable” they are, if they’re planning to go into the world of motorsport employment.
The 1,800 survey respondents did not disappoint, providing, on aggregate, a great deal of insight into all the opportunities that seem to be getting left on the table by current motorsport career hopefuls.
Whether you’re keen to get started but don’t know how, or, you’ve got the degree qualification but F1 teams aren’t exactly knocking your door down to invite you for an interview, the answer may be far simpler than you think.
If you haven't completed our survey yet, here's the link - thank you for your contribution!
In today’s article, I’ve picked out the key takeaways from the data that I think are the most “actionable” for aspiring Motorsport jobseekers.
I’ve listed the full questions and answer scores at the end of the article, along with some useful further resources that might help you take your next steps.
Our mission is to help more people get into the world of Motorsport – I think our “How Hireable Are You” survey really gives us a huge amount of information to help you in that journey. Here goes!
Networking and Online Presence
Survey Results:
- 80% are not active LinkedIn users or they don't post about motorsport topics regularly.
- 78% don't have a LinkedIn profile tailored towards motorsport at all.
Expert Advice:
Todd Jack Hooker, former head of talent at Williams F1, emphasised the importance of networking, showing passion and interest in the subject in our recent podcast on getting a Motorsport job:
“F1 HR Manager Reveals How to Get a Motorsport Job – with Todd Jack Hooker ex-Head of Talent at Williams F1”
Included in the huge amount of advice Todd gave us in the session, he recommended that “showing yourself” (being open about your interests, hobbies, and life goals including outside of the motorsport world) is just as important as having the right qualifications or motivation.
Grow and lean on your network for inspiration (perhaps listen to our podcasts!)
My favourite quote from the podcast:
"Knowing your why is really important especially when you apply for roles and when you go for interviews."
Having a great story, about yourself and about why you want this opportunity is such a good piece of advice. If you can leave your interviewer inspired by your story, there's a much better chance of getting called back in.
Recommendation:
Actively consider ways to network and represent yourself professionally. Use LinkedIn to follow influential people and, through commenting or your own posts, share that passion for motorsport that you’ll inevitably be drilled on in an interview.
Make sure your LinkedIn profile highlights your motorsport-related skills and experiences. This does not have to be prominent in your work history – there’s a volunteering section for you to demonstrate your activities too.
LinkedIn is good, but there are other channels to create an audience.
You could, for example, set up a blog and document what you have learned and observed as an engineer. If you’re more interested in Motorsport marketing, social media or content creation, perhaps your Instagram account should take priority.
Creating assets online is an excellent way to firm up your knowledge, demonstrate your skills and insights and, your wider motivation to master your craft.
Hands-on Experience and Volunteering
Survey Results:
- 77% have never volunteered for a race or karting team.
- 74% don't have hands-on experience working with motorsport vehicles or teams.
Expert Advice:
If you have some skills, if you're a helpful person, and, if you're willing to get involved, I promise some of these teams would love to have you there.
Volunteering to help might feel more than a bit nerve-wracking at the time, but you have to be present! Race meetings happen almost every weekend at your nearest circuit; national events run by the BRSCC, 750mc, and BARC at a club level are a good place to take a look around; as you can get close to the teams and usually, people are happy to chat.
Bigger events, like the Silverstone Festival, are arguably busier meetings but you’re more likely to find a better-funded international/historic team to talk to. F1 teams attend too; for the motorsport fan, this is a great place to check out what goes into racing meeting organisation.
BARC TOCA LTD are the event organisers for the BTCC who also have support events (such as British F4 and Porsche Carerra Cup).
Even a Porsche team will be running on a tight budget; if you can offer to help out and you're happy to fetch, carry and clean wheels on day one (and you do well), they’ll want you back.
Recommendation:
Seek out volunteering opportunities with local, national race or karting teams. This hands-on experience is invaluable for understanding the practical aspects of motorsport and can lead to more opportunities very quickly.
If you’re not sure where to head, look at the calendar at your nearest race track.
Having a willingness to stand up and be present, and a demonstrable keenness to do anything is the “make or break” of a Motorsport career, and, if you don’t believe that washing wheels amount to anything; you need to listen to one of our first podcasts with Julien Simon-Chautemps, Kimi Räikkönen’s former race engineer:
Proactive Outreach
Survey Results:
- 79% have never cold-called or emailed a motorsport company to ask to be involved.
Expert Advice:
Oliver Marler's journey from teacher to McLaren Applied demonstrates the power of networking and seizing opportunities. His career change began with a conversation in a pub!
Recommendation:
Don't be afraid to reach out to companies directly, look for the best contact on their website (usually HR or recruiting).
A cold call or a well-written email shows huge initiative and it might lead to unexpected opportunities. You’ll certainly get yourself in the queue, which is a far better place to be than nowhere.
Education and Qualifications
Survey Results:
- 55% don't have formal training or qualifications in their desired role.
- 59% are currently pursuing further education or training.
Expert Advice:
Tim Anway, Engineering Director at Fiberworks, advises,
"Seek out educational programs that offer specialised classes in composites and carbon fibre, get involved in Formula Student or similar projects, pursue internships, and develop a strong technical foundation."
Recommendation:
While formal qualifications aren't always necessary, continuing your education and getting specialised training will give you an edge.
Look for graduate programs that offer hands-on experience and are recognised within the industry. Alternatively, make a list of the organisations you’d like to join and find out if they have summer internships.
This is something teams like Red Bull and Mercedes offer – take a look at our graduate motorsport jobs page for ideas on who to make contact with. At the time of writing, Mercedes has just published a list of apprenticeship opportunities:
Content Creation and Industry Engagement
Survey Results:
- 73% have not published any content related to motorsport.
- 94% follow motorsport media regularly.
Expert Advice:
Dr. Kieran Reeves, Director of Motorsport at the National Motorsport Academy, emphasises the importance of a variety of practical skills and in particular, understanding the Motorsport industry.
Creating content is something we’re almost all doing, all of the time. Your Facebook comments, and Instagram posts – this is all content. Why not adjust how you spend this time to make it align with your longer-term goals? Demonstrate that understanding of the industry, first-hand with your own unique style and viewpoints.
If you're online and have a presence, the better your background checks out and conversely, the easier an interview will be.
And, if you're not sure of the value of following our advice, DRIVER61 was started primarily based on the early success of Driver’s University – without those videos, we would never have started Trophi.ai and FluidJobs.com.
Representing yourself, either by documenting your learning, writing a “how to” guide, or making video shorts – these contributions add up to your personal equity and attractiveness to the recruiting team.
Recommendation
Transform your passion for consuming motorsport content into creating it.
It’s difficult at first but you’ll soon find an angle you’re comfortable exploring. Start a blog, a podcast, or a YouTube channel to showcase your knowledge, document your learnings and use this as a platform to engage with the wider community.
Not convinced? Ask yourself: If two candidates who were otherwise the same interviewed for a position, but one had taken the time to build something in their free time, which would you choose?
Technical Skills and Knowledge
Survey Results:
- 78% possess technical skills relevant to their desired role.
- 73% have knowledge of lower formulas, teams, drivers, and technology.
Expert Advice:
Tim Anway noted in our podcast that a solid grounding in engineering basics and proficiency in CAD software, particularly CATIA, is highly prized in the motorsport industry.
Recommendation:
We return to Dr Kieran Reeves excellent advice that a degree is a powerful thing to have.
Whatever the specialisation, a degree will have a strong influence on your career path of least resistance into Motorsport. Degrees can be online (the National Motorsport Academy) or, you could choose to go down a very practical route with a University that participates in Formula Student.
It's a given that for most engineering and design roles, a BsC or MsC in engineering is a bare minimum requirement. Consider obtaining certifications in relevant software – whether it’s for CFD, FEA, CAD and so on.
The best candidates tend to be able to demonstrate a hobby or interest outside of motorsport – 3D printing, an electronics hobby, software you’ve written – these are of extremely high interest to a motorsport recruiter.
Passion and Long-term Commitment
Survey Results:
- 96% show significant passion for the sport in their free time.
- 95% see themselves working in motorsport in 10 years' time.
Expert Advice:
Oliver Marler's journey from teacher to McLaren Applied demonstrates how passion can drive career changes and long-term success in the industry. Oliver had spent 5 years as a school PE teacher, moving to Mercedes-Benz as a product training specialist.
Fast forward to today, and Oliver works on ATLAS, McLaren's sophisticated data analysis tool used across various motorsport series.
As it happens, Oliver landed this role because he’d found an interest in ATLAS through his sim racing hobby.
Something as simple as having a relevant hobby got someone from teaching into Formula One.
Recommendation:
Maintain, but showcase your passion for motorsport. Consider how you can translate this passion into practical skills or knowledge that can benefit potential employers.
If you look around you, what interests have you developed over the years that might turn out to be relevant to working in a Formula One team?
Or, do you need to up your hobby game by giving up something less, productive?
Conclusion
We've learned some interesting and sometimes surprising things in our survey, but we've also discovered some relatively easy opportunities to increase your chances of joining a Motorsport organisation.
Thinking about using this information to increase your chances of being noticed by an F1 team is really what this exercise is all about, and where other candidates might be weak, you have an opportunity to make yourself strong:
1. Increase your networking efforts, especially through LinkedIn and industry events. Just drop someone you admire a line, and see what happens.
2. Seek out hands-on experience through volunteering or internships. Go down to your nearest circuit, or find out where your nearest racing team is based and drop by. Be polite and courteous, explain that you’re looking to gain some experience and ask if you can be of any help.
3. Be proactive in reaching out to companies and industry professionals – proactivity is something we found to be a little weak in our survey data – turn this weakness into an advantage.
4. Education and qualifications are very important – if you have the opportunity to continue your education, go for it. A set of practical skills developed via Formula Student or Aerospace industry experience is the gold standard and will get you far. If further education is not on the table, real, practical experience also carries an immense amount of value. You don’t have to have a degree to get your foot in the door.
5. Create your own content to demonstrate your knowledge, learning and passion. Your social network is precisely that – a network. Networks like LinkedIn, X, and Facebook groups give you a golden opportunity to seek out subject experts for you to ask questions. People are always generally friendly and open in Motorsport, but you’ll never know until you ask.
6. Continue developing your technical skills relevant to a desired role in Motorsport. You might not be in the job of your dreams today, but the only thing stopping you is yourself. Skills in software, coding, design and 3D printing translate very well into the workshop and design offices!
Further resources to help your journey..
I’ve collated a few resources from outside of Motorsport to help or inspire you to make the steps we’ve identified in our survey – good luck, and, if you have a success story you'd like to share with us on our podcast, get in touch
How to Make a Video For YouTube
How to make a professional LinkedIn profile
I am an introvert, and this is how I network.
University rankings for General Engineering degrees
Turning Tech Hobbies into Side Hustle
All Survey Results
If you'd like to use our survey data, feel free or drop us a line if there's something else you're curious about. All we ask is that you cite fluidjobs.com as the original source!
