How to get a job in Formula 1

As we travel around the world, we are always being asked the same question: “How do I get a job in Formula 1?”

At Williams Racing, we’re all about investing in the future and are always looking for the next generation of talent as we continue our journey back to the front.

On a recent episode of The Fast and the Curious, James Vowles spoke in depth about his journey into motorsport and what it takes to secure a role in the sport.

“One of the more commonly asked questions I get, especially within America and Canada, is “Here’s what I am, here’s what I’ve done, how do I get involved?” James shared.

“And it’s all walks of life. It’s people who have already graduated and are working in a different environment, but they’re just fascinated and interested.

“I think the story is probably more common than you think, and the answer to it is quite simple.

“If you go on our website, there’s a Careers section and an Early Careers part, which includes graduates and otherwise.

“It is as simple as that, it is about applying. If you don’t apply, there’s zero chance of getting in!

“We are still growing day by day. The [wider] world is where we want to be picking our brightest and best. It’s not about being closed within the environment, it’s about reaching out and finding the absolute best that exists worldwide.

“Every single person within the organisation contributes towards the success of it, irrespective of where you are. It simply doesn’t work unless everyone is pointing in the same direction and working together."

James was joined on the episode by our Wind Tunnel Systems Engineer, Christina Sullivan. A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Christina first arrived via our Industrial Placement programme before joining full-time through our Early Careers offering.

When speaking about how she began on her path to Formula 1, she discussed that her passion for engineering came during childhood.

“I just really enjoyed it [from a young age]. My favourite show when I was a kid was How It’s Made, I loved it and would watch it for hours.

“Both my parents were engineers, so they had a bias towards it. But I remember I was doing a Robotics Camp at the University of Waterloo when I was 11 years old, and one of the teachers asked me to come next week and help us teach the eight and nine-year-olds.

“I studied Mechatronics Engineering and one of the things about that course is you can do anything, the breadth of knowledge that you learn is vast.

“My dream job when I was a kid was wanting to do special effects in film, and then Formula 1 came. Then I had this opportunity to work at Williams and I had to go for it!

“It’s easy and there are a lot of different roles. They have Apprenticeships which are multi-year programmes, and they have Industrial Placements which is what I did.

“They have them in different departments, you don’t have to be just an engineer. There’s some in HR, there are some in Business, everywhere across the company.

“There are also Summer Placements. Just look at whatever one you’re most interested in or one that matches your schedule and apply! Oh, and write a really good cover letter.”

James went into further detail on the early foundations of getting into Formula 1 and the keys to making your way in the industry.

“I would say you need to get into motorsport as soon as possible,” our Team Principal commented.

“It’s a very specialist expertise area. It’s not that engineering differs dramatically depending on where you’re going, it’s that we’re becoming more and more specialised.

“It’s the root cause of who I am because I came into the sport 30 years ago as a graduate.

“It’s also because it’s in the core of Williams, it’s embedded in there. It’s about investing in future generations.

“We have the Schools programme, we also have the Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy and our Early Careers programme. To give you an idea, 10% of our workforce is Early Careers.”

If you want to watch the full episode, we’ve embedded it below. But for now, we’ll leave you with some handy advice from James aimed at anyone looking to apply right now.

“How do you get there? This is going to sound very cliche, but we have 10,000 CVs applying. This is hard competition, so you have to stand out from the crowd.

“This is the cliched bit, but you have to be top of your class in what you’re doing. You have to be right amongst the very best at what you’re achieving.

“The second thing is you must put time and effort into what you’re writing in the cover letter and CV. You’ll be surprised what we pick up on.

“Avoid mistakes or errors, I’ve read ones that have said “I’d like to apply to Red Bull” then have applied here! That’s not the diligence that is required. You’ve got to want it and mean it.”