“You’re actually in the garage during the race. You are part of all this excitement. You’re under the podium when the Ferrari team wins and celebrates with the driver. It’s a crazy world of this traveling circus that travels around the world almost continuously from March to November. “
Ireland has a tradition of college graduates who migrate to work all over the world. This week’s Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast guest is international sports marketing Annie Annie, who left Ireland in the 1990s after graduating from DCU and has since worked abroad.
Annie has had an eventful high octane career for EUFA, FIFA, Eurosport, F1 and Shell on the Ferrari F1 team that has spanned four continents.
“I am based in Switzerland. And fun enough for someone who travels around the world a lot for work. I’ve been in Switzerland for 18 years now. But in roles in which I travel a lot ”.
“I left Ireland the day after taking my final exam in my college finals. I left Ireland and never came back. And it was never planned. Two days after graduation, I moved to France. And then I lived in France for three years, lived in London for two years and have now been in Switzerland for 18 years. “
Annie worked for F1 in Geneva and then moved to Shell to represent the company on the Ferrari F1 team. “I had two roles in F1. I worked for the Formula 1 group myself. Literally for Bernie and, and that was in Geneva. And then I moved to Shell and Shell is a partner in the Ferrari team. And I led that partnership for Shell. “
“I managed to work with four world championship drivers, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. This is many people’s dream job. I think it’s an amazing sport. There’s a real passion for people who are F1 fans. “
“A lot of people are working on it. We would have up to 25 fuel scientists and engineers in the background developing all of these fuels and oils. We could introduce four or five new racing fuels and lubricants in one season. But we have a team of two to three people on site at the race. There’s a lot of quality control to make sure the fuels and oils aren’t contaminated. We’d have a really sophisticated lab in the back of the Ferrari garage. We are actually in the garage during the race. You are part of all this excitement. “
F1 life on the road is “a calling for people” who are “incredibly passionate” about sport and lifestyle. But you’d have to be because you don’t have a life to work in F1. They have no family life and many people are divorced or their relationships are broken because of their dedication to Formula One. It’s hard work, hard lifestyle. “
“There’s a lot of glamor there too. But it’s not the same as it used to be. Most of the drivers are pretty reasonable. They are really top athletes and train an incredible amount. You need top-notch fitness to be an F1 driver. But everyone around her celebrates for her. “
Annie has been to all the racetracks and shares her thoughts on her favorites. “Most people will agree on what their favorite tracks are in F1. It’s definitely not Monaco. Monaco is one of those races that just drives everyone crazy. Because you have the most high-ranking guests and with everything in Monaco the stress is really high. “
“It’s really difficult to get things done in Monaco because Monaco is built into a hillside by the water. And most of the roads are closed because of the racetrack. Trying to organize an event in Monaco is a nightmare. “
“But I would say Monaco is a driver’s favorite track because it is technically very challenging. But it’s almost impossible to pass. So it’s not one of those tracks where the result can be really surprising unless there’s a crash or something. “
“The races that the drivers love are the older tracks like Suzuka or Belgium. The racetracks favored by fans are street tracks like Melbourne, Montreal and Singapore. Because you are in the middle of a city. They have an amazing atmosphere and can usually be walked to the track. You feel the atmosphere of the city and can go out and party at night. And for me, Suzuka is the worst place to stay in Japan. Because it’s a terrible gray industrial city “
“If people are looking for a tip on an F1 track, I would say if you go to a race you go to Belgium. The tickets are inexpensive. It’s easy to get to, you can get accommodation within an hour of the route. And as a spectator it’s an amazing track and there is usually a lot of excitement in Belgium. “
Annie shares great stories of working for some of the most memorable football sporting events in the last 20 years, including the Euro in Portugal in 2004. “Portugal was the host country and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much passion and emotion in my life. You made it to the final and lost to Greece. I was in the stadium for the final and we all cried our eyes. The emotion was just unreal. They’d worked so hard and got so far and then lost. “
Annie currently works for Shell across Africa and tells us on the podcast why this continent has such a special place in her heart.
Fergal O’Keeffe hosts Ireland’s No. 1 Travel Podcast Travel Tales with Fergal, a weekly series of interviews that are heard in over 70 countries. The Travel Tales and available on all podcast platforms. His website is www.traveltaleswithfergal.ie
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