Making It Happen
- Rami
- Mar 1, 2021
- 5 min read
Women don't just have to strive to be drivers in motorsport - they also work behind the scenes to hep make it all happen.
Firstly, I think it is important to not only take note of, but to celebrate Stephanie Travers - the first Black woman to stand on an F1 podium. She was brought up to the podium by Lewis Hamilton after his win in Austria at the Styrian Grand Prix and even went on to highlight Stephanie's achievement on his instagram. Stephanie is a fluid trackside engineer for Petronas and described her job as supporting the team with technical analysis. More about her job specifically can be found here:
Stephanie is a chemical engineering graduate who loves motorsport and has her entire life - so this was not just a huge moment for motorsport, but also for herself. She has also been very vocal about supporting others in their ambitions too - stating that you have to go for what you want.
For those confused, this is a massive step forward in motorsport as Stephanie is a female STEM student, meaning that not only is Mercedes diversifying their crew, but also supporting and recognising them for their achievements. This is a massive win for those from minority backgrounds and us girls out there who wish to follow in Stephanie's footsteps. Stephanie is smart, a role model and someone to celebrate and remember, always.
Hannah Schmitz - without whom RedBull may not have gotten that win in Brazil 2019, and done so well in so many other races. Hannah is a senior data analyst who is passionate and amazing at her job. She has to work extremely fast to analyse other teams strategies whilst also trying to improve her own teams simultaneously.
She is most widely known for her race-winning plan in which she told Max Verstappen to make a third pitstop in Brazil in 2019, which meant on his newer tyres, he had the pace and would go on to finish on top of the podium. As a reward, Christian Horner sent Hannah up to collect the constructors trophy.
Hannah has a masters from Cambridge University and is recognised for her skills in analysing data - being such an asset to RedBull racing that she commutes for hours a day (as stated by Christian Horner) and does it purely because she has a passion and she is one of the best at her job.
It is also important to note that Hannah is not only amazing at her job, but is also a mother - showing that us women and girls can in fact do both - and we do not need to give up our passions to complete outdated societal norms such as being a full-time mother and house wife.
Tatiana Calderón Noguera - a name some may be familiar with. Tatiana is Alfa Romeo's test driver. She comes from a family of car-dealers and since starting karting when she was nine, soon becoming the first woman to win national titles in either Columbia and the States. In 2011, she moved up to car racing and took two podiums at the Star Mazda Championship at the age of 17. It is no secret that Tatiana is talented and has some serious skill in driving.
Tatiana has multiple other associations and titles that go with her name, that should not be discredited; such as being the first woman to lead a Formula 3 European Championship lap. She is definitely someone worth taking time to research in detail (maybe one day I will do a deep-dive into her career) but for the length of this blog, I will leave you with the knowledge that she is talented, has many title associations with her name and is incredible - which is obvious by her current title as Alfa Romeo's development and test driver - showing that she is not only worthy to test F1 cars, but also that she is impressive and can handle the pressure of being in such a vehicle.
Another amazing race strategist that cannot go unheard of is Ruth Buscombe. Ruth has a degree from Cambridge University from the engineering department and in 2012, worked at Scuderia Ferrari as a race strategist. In 2015, she moved to Haas as an engineer strategist and then in 2016 moved to Alfa Romeo and worked as the team's strategy engineer - where she played a crucial role in helping the team overtake Manor Racing in the Constructors Championship.
However, it is not just Ruth's smarts that make me look up to her, but the fact that she is an ambassador for 'Dare To Be Different'. This is an organisation in which girls are supported to become part of the motorsport world and to change perceptions of women in male-dominated areas. Meaning that not only is Ruth admired for her brains, but she also is constantly uplifting other women to become more than societal norms tell them they can be.
Ruth is one of the main reasons behind Romain Grosjean's top 6 finishes in 2016 and once she moved to Alfa Romeo, she was also a large reason as to Felipe Nasr finishing ninth at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Again, proving just how smart and important she is to the team.
The last incredible woman on this list is Aurelie Donzelot, whom is often seen along Daniel Ricciardo as his press officer, but she if formally known as Renault's press officer. It has been said by many who have met her that Aurelie is a down-to-earth character and is always down for a laugh. Her LinkdIn (listen I couldn't find much about her, I promise I didn't track her down on there ahah) has comments that she is often people's first port of call for any type of content creation as she has such a good approach.
She is the very person that kept the paddock 'joker' under control in his interviews and even now Ricciardo has left for the 2021 season, Aurelie will continue her amazing work at Alpine and create amazing content for this team. Needless to say, I am excited to see what she brings for 2021!
I just wanted to end this blog by saying that just because other amazing women that work in motorsport didn't appear on this list, doesn't mean their work is to be discredited, treated as less than it is or is not as incredible as the women above, I just didn't want to make this blog too long. I am completely willing to write multiple blogs about the amazing women that drive in this sport and will continue to use my voice to celebrate these women.
I can't thank these women enough for reminding me that if I work hard, I too, can work my dream job.
Reminder! I do have a discord server for f1 and I would love for you to join - just drop me a message on twitter and ill send you over the link!!! I hope you enjoyed this blog! it is summative season so i'm very busy but I'm trying to get them out as fast as I can!
- Rami xx
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