Breaking Barriers: Celebrating Women Engineers in Motorsport
To celebrate 'International Women in Engineering Day', meet the women transforming the world of motorsport engineering.
Between analyzing data and driver performance, progression through technology across motorsport shapes up a successful and championship winning car. Behind such powerful creations come even stronger creators, many of which are women in engineering. To further celebrate ‘International Women in Engineering Day’ on June 23, here is a look at the inspirational women making a change in the motorsport world.
Amelia Lewis: McLaren (Specialist Performance Engineer; Formula One)
Since childhood, Amelia Lewis has held a love for motorsport in her heart, as she was always fascinated by the engineering of F1 cars. While studying engineering at the University of Bath, she received a design-based opportunity at Williams Racing. Months of practice and research ultimately led her to gaining the position at Williams. Today, Lewis works with McLaren F1 Team as a ‘specialist performance engineer’. Since making the switch between the two teams, Lewis states that she does not feel threatened by the competitors, due to the “sense of solidarity” between the women working in F1.
Ruth Buscombe: Alfa Romeo/ Kick Sauber (Race Strategist, Strategy Engineer; Formula One)
After getting her start with Scuderia Ferrari in 2012, Ruth Buscombe worked with various drivers, including Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel, as their race strategist. In 2015, she moved to Haas F1 Team, as a strategy engineer, where she then moved forward to Alfa Romeo. From 2016 to 2023, Buscombe was the Head of Race Strategy. How did she get this far in the F1 world? Since a young age, she has enjoyed math-related subjects, ultimately proving her worthy of engineering. She later went on to attend the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering, to study Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering. Despite leaving the inside world of engineering, she currently works for F1TV and can still be seen trackside and in the paddock.
Angela Ashmore: Chip Ganassi Racing (Race Engineer, Lead Engineer; NTT IndyCar Series)
Working as the lead engineer for both Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) cars, Angela Ashmore has carried over her passion for engineering into something that means more. As an engineering student at Purdue University, she collaborated on the student lead Formula SAE team to build a single-seater race car. Following college, she worked at Chryslers Institute of Engineering, where she then worked her way up to their NASCAR program. She worked as the race engineer for racing legend, Bubba Wallace. Becoming such a motivated and fast-learner, she received an opportunity to work in IndyCar. Ashmore started out strong, working as the data systems engineer for Marcus Ericsson. She led the former F1 driver to win his first Indy 500 in 2022. Earlier this year, she was promoted to the lead engineer for Marcus Armstrong, making her the third woman in the NTT IndyCar Series to be in such a prestigious position.
Hannah Schmitz: Red Bull Racing (Principal Strategy Engineer; Formula One)
Holding a love for math and physics, Hannah Schmitz continued to grow her passion at the University of Cambridge, studying Mechanical Engineering. The same year she graduated, she was granted an opportunity at Red Bull Racing, as a modeling and simulation engineer. After years of showcasing her work, she was promoted to Senior Strategy Engineer. Working through many challenges, Schmitz’s focus was analyzing data to ensure that the cars were strong enough for the upcoming race. She would have to look closely at both the strengths and weaknesses of the cars, all the way down to the way the tires would perform. As of 2021, she has been working as the Principal Strategy Engineer. While receiving new numbers and data, her position requires her to make fast decisions on the strategies needed to be successful on the race track. Paving the way for RBR to win the championships in 2022 and 2023, she received the ‘McLaren Applied Female Engineer of the Year’ award. Gaining much praise from many, including Helmet Marko, she is a leading figure to a younger generation of women.
Such a male-dominated sport creates a harder environment for women to join into. Following the launch of ‘F1 Academy’, with an all female grid, there was an increase from 2.5% to 9% of girls competing in karting, which is where drivers get their start before the formula leagues. Various teams and drivers are helping to get more women involved in motorsports. For instance, the ‘More Than Equal’ organization was created by former F1 driver, David Coulthard, to break down the barriers. His goal is not to make the process easier for women, but to make it equally as challenging for both genders. In 2016, ‘Girls on Track’ was created by Susie Wolff, partner of Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, and the FIA. Their mission is to increase women and girls participation in all sports across the world.
Women's involvement in sports will always be an on-going challenge throughout the world. With more people and organizations coming together, they are allocating women to receive opportunities that they would not have been able to obtain years ago. Outside of the wonderful and talented women mentioned, there are countless amounts of women playing their part in proving that women are worthy of doing more.
“We are here to stay and we are right where we belong.” - Laura Winter, F1 Presenter
https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/news/inwed-2023-how-were-inspiring-female-engineers-of-the-future
https://www.salracing.com/story/2023/8/getting-to-know-ruth-buscombe
https://www.indycar.com/news/2024/01/01-11-content-notes-2
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/News/2021/angela-ashmore-living-the-dream-in-indycar
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4514419/2023/05/15/hannah-schmitz-red-bull-strategy-f1/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5225350/2024/01/25/f1-academy-women-motorsport/