Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
She nods, impressed but clearly not really understanding, so she moves to the real crux of this article. “And you’re the first woman to hold this role in FI history?”
There’s no describing the flush of pride welling in me. I remember the tears in my dad’s eyes when I told him I’d been offered the job. I glance at the framed photo of me in my first season with Bauer Performance Racing hanging on the wall. I’d thought that was the pinnacle of my career, working for an FI2 team—the lower-tiered race organization that operated under Bauer FI Racing in Vienna. Sometimes I doubt the reality of me standing here in this pristine space, knowing how far I’ve come.
“Yes, I am. And to be honest, it’s still a bit surreal. Part of me can’t believe I’m here.” I turn back to her, motioning to one of the chairs so we can settle in for the rest of the interview. “But it’s been a journey.”
She sits across from me at the table, her recorder poised, ready to capture every word. “Let’s talk about that journey then. You didn’t just wake up one day and become a race strategy engineer.”
The journey wasn’t an easy one, and it certainly wasn’t linear. But it was inevitable. “I grew up in racing. My dad was chief of the pit crew at Union Jack Motorsports. I was raised in the pit garages, surrounded by cars, drivers and mechanics. My dad was always there—working long hours, making sure everything ran smoothly. I spent my childhood at tracks all over the world, watching the sport up close.”
“So it’s in your DNA,” Amanda muses.
“I don’t know there’s any other way to consider it,” I agree with a chuckle, remembering with so much fondness those early days. “I was a sponge. I asked questions. A lot of them. I wanted to know how everything worked—the strategies, the tech, the team dynamics. Dad was always patient with me. I think he saw something in me early on, and he encouraged me to follow my curiosity.”
“I imagine there weren’t a lot of other little girls in the garages. And it’s still a male-dominated sport. What made you think you belonged?”
Excellent question. While all my friends were off playing with dolls and painting their nails, I was turning socket wrenches. I shrug, not feeling like I lost out on anything. “I’m lucky that my father never put up barriers for me. On the contrary, he made me believe there were no barriers in this sport.”
“But I’ll bet there were plenty of barriers,” she guesses.
“Being a woman in this field, you have to prove yourself more than most. There are still people who don’t think I belong, but I’ve learned to tune them out. My dad taught me that the work speaks for itself.”
Away from the mind-bending data analysis that is central to my job, this information is clearly captivating to Amanda. As we talk, I can see her excitement at the possibility of sharing my story with all the little girls out there. “And your education? Exactly how does one become a race strategy engineer?”
“It’s definitely a niche job,” I reply, thinking about just how hard it is to break into this world, male or female. “There are probably no more than thirty to fifty strategy jobs at any one time across all of Formula International and its subseries teams. But you asked about my education.” I fill her in on those details and she scribbles notes. “I didn’t want to just be another ‘enthusiast’ in the sport. I wanted to understand the technical side. The engineering, the aerodynamics, the strategy. Everything. But it was the strategy I was drawn to.”
“Let me guess,” Amanda says with a smirk. “I’m betting you’re a hell of a chess player.”
Grinning, I admit, “Backgammon’s more my game, but I’m not too bad at chess.”
“What did you do after graduation?”
I lean forward, clasping my hands on the table. “I joined Bauer Performance Racing in Vienna, which is owned by Bauer FI Racing. At first, it was just a junior role, helping out with data analysis and pit strategy for their FI2 team. But I was driven. I kept pushing for more responsibility, and eventually, they brought me on as the strategy engineer for the team. I was only twenty-four at the time, but I didn’t back down. I wanted to prove that I could handle the pressure, that I could think on my feet, and that I could outsmart the competition.”
I pause, remembering the countless hours working under the fluorescent lights, mapping out race strategies, split-second decisions that could make or break the entire race. I worked twice as hard and twice as many hours as anyone else, just so no one could ever find fault with me. “The FI2 team taught me a lot about adapting on the fly, managing risk and keeping calm under pressure. That’s when I first realized I could do this at a higher level. So, when the opportunity with Titans Racing came up, I didn’t hesitate.”