Not just for drivers: Singaporeans explore F1 job opportunities off the track

SINGAPORE: Mr Gautham Ramesh is one Singaporean living the Formula 1 dream.

When he was just 11 – during the era of renowned drivers Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen – he was fascinated by the F1 races that he watched on cable television.

He had a fleeting daydream of squeezing into one of the highly coveted spots behind the wheel.

“But I was too old, and too tall, to be a driver,” laughed the 1.88m tall Mr Gautham.

So, the next best thing would be becoming a race engineer, he said.

He read all the motorsport magazines he could find, researched job requirements, and realised mechanical and aeronautical engineering would be the paths he needed to take.

He enrolled in an engineering degree programme at the National University of Singapore, and joined automotive clubs and competitions where he designed, built, tested and raced formula style race cars.

He then furthered his master’s studies in aeronautics at the Imperial College London in Britain in 2011. There, he tried to get noticed by racing firms.

“I knew I had to go to the United Kingdom, because predominantly (most) teams are based there. A lot of people working in F1 are British engineers. Once they see a resume from (British universities), even if it's from a Singaporean, they'll at least give a chance to interview,” he said.

“So, I started emailing every F1 team, any technical director. Surprisingly, a lot of people responded.”

After doing his thesis project with the Williams Racing team for four months, he graduated and took a job with the now-defunct Marussia team as a junior aerodynamicist.

Since then, he has worked as an engineer across four different F1 teams, including Lotus – now known as Alpine – and Toro Rosso.

In 2017, he moved back to Singapore for his family. He thought he had left the world of racing behind for good, until Williams came knocking.

“There was an opportunity at Williams, but I didn't want to move to the UK. I asked if there's any possibility of remote employment. I thought they'd say no, because things don’t happen like that in F1,” he said. “Surprisingly, they said yes.”

For the past three years, Mr Gautham has been working from home as a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology engineer, where he models airflow over a car using physics and mathematics on a supercomputer.

His work helps F1 teams determine if they can go faster by altering the cars' shape and structure to minimise air resistance and maximise downforce.

F1 ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE DRIVERS

Like Mr Gautham, Singaporean racing enthusiasts are looking to flag down careers in the motorsport industry, off the track.

Undergraduate Heng Yi-Hsin recently nabbed an internship with Red Bull Racing, in a relations and events role that brings the sport closer to fans around the world. 

Her friend, a fellow student from the Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, also took up a hospitality internship in the same team.

They went through three rounds of interviews that included making a one-minute promotional video about themselves and pitching presentations.

Their two-month stint sent them to European cities including Prague, where they experienced working the events on the ground and even got their hands dirty on the tracks.

“The amount of resources that they have, that they can just tap into immediately, (was enormous). An idea is not just an idea over there, it can very quickly become the reality,” said Ms Heng.

“I never dared to dream before this, but now I have seen the opportunities and the possibilities. If the opportunity arises again, I would love to get back in.”

She said F1 is not just about the drivers – although they get the fame – a host of other industries and job roles are involved, including marketing and media.

Mr Gautham added: “There is a lot of technology transfer from F1 to healthcare, biomedical and automotive. If you're interested in technology, there's a ton of exposure that F1 gives you.”

STARTING FROM YOUNG

F1 itself is hoping to attract talent by bringing the sport to more people, especially from a younger age.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, training consultant Mastereign Group brought the F1 in Schools programme to 15 secondary schools and junior colleges.

The initiative includes exhibitions, interactive displays and assembly talks sponsored by Singapore GP showcasing latest technological advancements in the sport, the night race's impact to Singapore's economy and a wide range of roles within and beyond F1.

"It did give me some motivation. It's much more possible to get into F1 than I originally thought,” said a student who attend the programme.

Students at Jurongville Secondary School were even lucky enough to attend talks by Singapore's top racers – Christian Ho, who will be in the F3 lineup next season, and Alpine development driver Kabir Anurag.

Ms Amanda Rachael De Souza, a teacher at Broadrick Secondary School, said the exposure could help students make informed choices for higher education courses in polytechnics or universities.

Ms De Souza is part of her school's Applied Learning Programme team, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEMS), as well as sustainability, and exposes students to different careers.

“It's a very rare opportunity to see how a real-life industry that's so high-profile can be broken down into basic concepts that students learn in school, like maths and physics, as well as the science, technology and engineering behind it,” she added.

“F1 is not just about the sport, especially in the Singapore context. There's the whole concert aspect to it as well. A lot of vendors are engaged to make the whole (event) a success. We can further (our students') learning about all the different industries that come together to make Singapore's night race the best one in the world.”

The F1 Singapore Grand Prix takes place from Sep 20 to 22 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Catch the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024 practice, qualifying and main races on Channel 5 and mewatch.