How to Become a Race Car Engineer

Ever Wondered What it Takes to be a Professional Race Engineer?

Apr 14, 2009

The sight all team members want to see, Photograph Courtesy of Brawn GP

Every race team needs an engineer. From owner drivers in the SCCA, to Formula One, race engineers are an indispensable part of the team.

Next to the driver, a good race engineer can make the difference between being competitive or just an also ran. But becoming an engineer takes many years of study, both at college and at the track.

Most engineers start their career working as mechanics or technicians on small teams – sometimes just helping a friend out at the weekends. Others may have started as drivers but found they were lacking in either talent or money (sometimes both) to take their driving ambitions further.

Hands-On Experience

To a professional team, the most valuable race engineer is one who has had “hands-on” experience, and has also graduated as an engineer from a respected university. Having hands-on experience helps the engineer understand the complexities of actually doing work on the car; and having a degree will enable him, or her, to explore the physics and math necessary to optimize the performance.

Within the major race series (F1, Indy car, LM, and NASCAR), teams will employ more than one engineer. Each engineer will be a specialist in a certain area of the vehicle. Typically, major teams will employ the following engineers:

Chief Engineer: Responsible for all engineering aspects of the car. They will have a thorough understanding of the vehicle from design to vehicle dynamics.
Vehicle Dynamics Engineer: Responsible for the cars handling – suspension, aero performance etc.
Data Engineer: Responsible for the data logging systems of the car – will have a thorough knowledge of data logging systems, electronics and computer systems.
Power Train Engineer: responsible for the engine and gearbox performance – will have a complete understanding and knowledge of race engines and gearboxes plus engine management systems.

Although the above are the main engineering disciplines, teams will often employ specialist engineers for many of the systems: cooling, braking, aerodynamics etc.

Gaining Experience

For the enthusiast who wants to make a career in motorsport, there are a number of options, but the bottom line is: experience is critical. Gaining experience can start at a technical college, or by volunteering to assist a local race team – initially cleaning may be the only job a team will trust a rookie with, but a strong work ethic will show a team that an individual is serious (not someone who thinks racing is just cool).

Gaining knowledge at the junior level is more hands-on, but beginners will also need to read as much as possible about motorsport in general, and the technological aspects in particular, to increase their knowledge base.

Part two: Learning to become a Race Car Engineer

The copyright of the article How to Become a Race Car Engineer in Formula 1 is owned by John Glimmerveen. Permission to republish How to Become a Race Car Engineer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.