What are Race Team Jobs?

Race Team jobs are roles that are based trackside. These types of jobs range from Mechanics, Engineers, and Garage Technicians. They are responsible for setting up the equipment and cars when they arrive at a circuit and then ensure the car is running correctly during sessions.

What are examples of Race Team job titles?

Mechanical:

Lead Mechanic, No1 Mechanic, No2 Mechanic, No3 Mechanic, Race Mechanic, No1 Technician, No2 Technician, Vehicle Technician, Garage Technician, Tyre Technician, Electronics Technician, Gearbox Technician, Vinyl & Graphic Technician, Damper Technician, Systems Technician.

Engineering:

Race Engineer, Strategy Engineer, Data Engineer, Controls Systems Engineer, Performance Engineer, Trackside Engineer.

Management:

Team Principle, Technical Director, Director of Engineering, Head of Control Systems, Team Manager.

What tasks and responsibilities do roles in a Race Team have?

The sort of tasks carried out by mechanics and technicians will include setting up the garages properly, ensuring all tools, parts and supplies are organised and accessible.

Once set up, mechanics get to work checking and assembling the car, ensuring all parts are operating correctly and the vehicles are adequately fuelled and lubricated. Work will include cleaning, jacking up the car, wheel changes, checking and replacing air filters, brake pads, and brake bleeding.

Depending on the size of the team, mechanics will be led by the Chief mechanic or Head mechanic who oversee and set the mechanical strategy and decide tasks and timeframes. The No1 mechanic will implement this, overseeing and monitoring the work of the No2 Mechanics.

On the Engineering side of the Race Team, the Race Engineer will often report into the Director of Engineering and is responsible for being the link between driver and the team and must communicate effectively and clearly between engineers and driver to extract the most performance from the car.

Other Engineers on the team that will feed back information to the Race Engineer will be Performance Engineers, Aero Engineers, Tyre Engineers, Systems Engineers, Power Unit Engineers, Gearbox Engineers, and Electronics Engineers – all play a vital role in their fields and responsible for analysing data and calculating how to optimise the car for maximum performance.

What qualifications do you need to work in a Race Team?

To secure an Engineering role in a Race Team and to be effective in the job you must have an engineering degree. You could look at Mechanical or Aeronautical at your first choices, however, most STEM subjects will be sufficient. If you want to get into F1, most team will insist on a 2:1.

Mechanic roles have slightly different requirements, whilst undoubtably a degree will benefit you immensely, you will find it is not always a requirement, as ability and experience are seen to be more important, as the role is much more hands on.