just read some your interviews. first of all, amazing. i'm so happy that you're pursuing your dreams. second, i am a hs student in CA too and my dream is to be an engineer in formula one. you said you had tips?
HI IM SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED MY INTERVIEWS!! thank you so much.
btw engineering is such cool aspect of motorsport and also a generally great passion to have, so good on ya. the first thing you can check out is the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), which offers volunteer opportunities if you’re 16+. find your local region (e.g. the san francisco region is called SFR SCCA and it’s in the norpac division) and check out their website.
the process to sign up to volunteer is really annoying tbh because you need both parents to make accounts (my.scca.org is the portal) as well as yourself. but beyond that, SCCA membership costs $80 a year — but you DONT have to pay it to volunteer (unless they’ve somehow patched that). personally i did not pay when i first started out last year, and after i helped redesign the region’s website someone just mailed me a membership for free. but you don’t need a membership to volunteer, just a valid annual minor waiver submitted through their online portal (which is where you’ll need both parents to sign minor release waivers).
but if volunteering isn’t your jam, what people don’t know is that you can literally just go into a track. you don’t have to volunteer, even. you can just…drive into the paddock and watch. (not the pro races here like indy or motogp. obviously. Um).
but SCCA and CSRG (classic something something something….anyways it’s a vintage racing group) host races called regionals at tracks all over the us and most times you can just go in. if the guy at the gate stops you, just sign his waiver and say “i’m here for SCCA/CSRG/whatever the hell” and they’ll let you through to the paddock, where you can just wander about and talk to people and watch races for no cost at all.
anyways the racing community is insanely welcoming. like you can stop almost anyone in the paddock and say “hi my name is ___ and i’m trying to become a motorsport engineer, etc etc, any tips?” and they’ll (9/10 times) point you towards one of the key players — the person you should talk to and develop a relationship with for their connections. most often it’s a team owner, but some of the retired drivers are insanely plugged in with the global community. also you get points just because you’re young — a lot of people working and driving with the SCCA are getting on in years.
this industry is 99% networking and 1% racing. so my advice would be to go to the track, introduce yourself to someone who looks important (don’t bother them if they’re busy, obviously), tell them what you’re here for, and they’ll point you to someone who can help you.
maybe they’ll offer for you to hang out in their garage and help wrench. maybe they’ll offer to introduce you to their friend mike who works in f1. but no matter what, you’ll learn something new about the industry and yourself, plus you’ll make friends. this is the best method.
good luck!! (sorry i talked so much IM PASSIONATE!)
