Undergraduate Summer work placements in F1.

[MattF1]

Can anyone please help me, I am currently studying for a degree in physics and was wondering if anyone had any information on whether F1 teams run such schemes; any information that could be of use would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Matt.

[JiMbO]

They do Matt but because of fears of industrial esponaige you would mostly be making cups of tea!!!

im not sure if they would take you on for just the summer... as most students studying automotive engineering will have a complete year in work placement

[dumbdave]

I think teams are very keen for placement students, certainly those i've talked to are!

Just call up & ask is the way to do it, even better if you have an idea (even if its outside the regs & they dont think its useful) approach them with it, it shows you are keen & thinking about things - which they want!

I dont actually have a proper placement myself, but am working on a novel project for a team, its not highly secretive (no-one has asked me to sign an Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) yet & the project is 3months old!)but its a chance to be involved & will hopefully lead to bigger things.
The project isnt even remotely related to the one i approached the team with, a positive enthusiastic attitude & a commitment to helping them will go a long way. (although that could also be partly because they arent paying me anything either...)

However if its not an "official" placement, be prepared for it to take a long time getting anywhere tangible, remember you are on the outside & these guys are BUSY (especially right now), you have to take the burden of action on yourself, prompt them frequently, but dont bother them!

If they accept you i dont think cups of tea will be on the agenda, if you have something to offer they arent the kind of people to waste it. I've been all around the plant, seen the cars insides & know a lot about how they produce & test various parts etc & im not even technically an employee, as i think you become when on a proper work placement.

[a6zz]

thats cool
which team are you working for?

[alex1015]

Just call and ask for these type of things. The more solid your background and CV, the better.

If you want it do it yourself, don't wait for people to do it for you.

Seriously if you want it you shouldn't have to have other people find it for you. This summer I have an engineering placement with a terrific team in a very well known European open wheel series. I didn't get it by being on here but instead by getting good grades, having some great prior experience and just asking.

[pitlaneimmigrant]

The teams generally take in a small number of undergrad students each year to work on short term (12 months) projects. Like the others have said, the best way to find out is to contact the HR department. If you have interest in a specific area try to get in contact with someone in that area directly to see if there are any projects going.
Unfortunately many teams will be reluctant to take new staff of any type on over the next 12 months given the current financial squeeze, even if they are cheap student labour.
Don't narrow your view to just F1 either, the are LMS, WTCC etc teams who might be open to the idea of taking on someone keen for a season to work on a specific problem, and the experience you would get with a smaller team could be broader then in an F1 team

[Monstrobolaxa]

I tried summer placements a few years back but never got one! I ended up working in a LMP3 team and F.Renault team in the last 2 years of Uni (finished it last June). Got an invitation in March to work for SA...but they closed before I started there!
Now I'm in A1GP...and possibly also doing the GP2.
So don't just spend time behind books...try getting work with a small team in Classics, GT, F.Ford/Renault/3...if you can afford it do it for free, it's great experience!
I'm an engineer but in the last 2 years of Uni working with the small team I did mechanics work, design work (new parts, FEA and CFD), fabricator (metal)...mould and composite laminator! Even ended up doing marketing work...so learned a lot! And I still am learning a lot!

[Belatti]

Even though Im graduated, I have no "real" experience in motorsport, so Im kinda doing some "undergraduate job" righ now.

Some is rebuilding a kart and racing it

The other is with Top Race (the same Series that Jacques Villeneuve raced this year here in Buenos Aires and said he loved it and will be back!!! )







http://www.trv6.com.ar

If you can get to F1, the thing to do would be to work for any racing series and try to go up step by step. Hard work and perseverance is needed. Working in F1 was my dream, but honestly, as things are right, now I don´t think about it as much as before. I know I can be a great TC (aka most popular Argentinian racing serie) designer for example. I have what I like to call "chapman" ideas (or lateral thinking if you like) that you would not be allowed to use in F1 5 minutes after of having implemented them
Those bastards have killed F1

[tahadar]

it seems like some F1 teams are scaling back on summer placements in the current climate. I had secured a summer placement at a midfield level team for 2010, but i got an email the other day from their HR department saying that the company has decided not to offer student placements in the "next few years". Other teams may still be offering placements but even they will probably have scaled back the number of people they take in.