Sophia Rehman – Girls On Track

CASE STUDY - Sophia Rehman

I joined D2BD (now Girls on Track) in 2016 when I was 13 years old. At the time I knew I loved cars and that I wanted to work in Formula 1, but I didn’t know what kind of options would be available to me, especially as I didn’t know anyone who worked in F1. It was from meeting the Girls on Track ambassadors that my path into F1 became clearer and gave me an end goal in mind.

I’ve been lucky enough to have spent a week of work experience with the Mercedes aerodynamics department and an afternoon with their Chief Race Strategist. Both of these experiences wouldn’t have been possible without an enormous amount of help from the Girls on Track ambassadors along the way!

Although I haven’t achieved my dream of working in motorsport yet, I’m currently studying Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Southampton and I’m actively involved in the Formula Student team. I still attend community events regularly as everyone continues to support me on my journey into F1.

OTHER CASE studies

Caitlyn Lennon

I first joined the girls on track community when I started on the journey into a career in motorsports. The opportunities that I’ve been able to have through being a member of the Girls on Track UK Community have been firstly, taking part in a focus group at my local track, Oulton Park, a work experience weekend in 2024 with Unlimited Motorsport BTTC team and attending some incredible community events. I have met so many inspiring people along the way. Being on my placement year from university, I am still taking my first steps into the world of motorsport, trying to learn as much as I can. I have been given the opportunity to develop my understanding of what it takes to contribute to a teams on track success with Rodin Motorsport, as data engineer/No.2 mechanic. I really am living my dream! So far, the journey has been incredible and has been helped by having a supportive and inspiring community around me proving anything is possible.

Claire Bonnisseau

Hi everyone! I'm Claire, working as a Junior engineer at Red Bull Powertrains. On the contrary to many other people here, it wasn't always my dream to work in F1! I did my undergraduate degree in another branch of engineering and, after 2 years, I realised it wasn't really what I wanted to do. Some friends I had made at uni made me watch F1 and after a few months of watching the sport I fell in love and decided to go for it! I applied for Masters in Mechanical engineering and joined the UCL Formula Student team, where I learned so much, but I was still feeling like everyone around me had been gathering experience in motorsports since they were young and that I was too far behind. A friend then introduced me to the Girls on Track UK community, where I got to volunteer for events as well as benefit from the network by joining events. A few days before I got the job offer at Red Bull, I had the chance to get experience at the BTCC Silverstone weekend thanks to GOT, where I learned a lot about trackside engineering and performance analysis, which is what I want to do! Since October, I've been working at Red Bull Powertrains as a Junior Engineer in the Business Performance team. In my day to day job, I work with all the teams in the business (design, performance, supply chain, manufacturing...) and I help redesigning the way the business works. Through data analysis or interacting with members from all the teams, my role is to identify the gaps in the processes and systems we use, and then to fix the issues to make the company more efficient and gain performance for 2026. This is a great place to be as I get to understand in details the processes and the roles of all the teams in the company. The Girls on Track UK community definitely helped me get where I'm at now, by giving me opportunities to prove myself and gain the skills and confidence to work in this industry!

Frankie Parrish

Girls on Track has been so important to my career progression, and I certainly wouldn’t be anywhere as near as I am now without it! I first heard of Girls on Track in 2023, and I joined my first event in early 2024, which was a webinar with motorsport personnel, including some people within Formula 1. Since then, I have attended some incredible events, such as attending both Berlin and London Formula E races, where I got to network and talk to people in the industry. I knew I wanted to work within motorsports so these opportunities were so important to get my name out there and to gain an insight into how people have secured roles in the industry. Additionally, GoT provided the opportunity to get some hands on work experience with a BTCC team, which really gave me a behind the scenes view of a motorsports team. I am now on an industrial placement with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team in their Marketing Operations Department. I cannot recommend GoT initiatives enough and the variety of events that are available for young women to gain an insight into the industry.

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