Strategists in Formula 1 are responsible for creating the perfect plan for a race and are often crucial to a good result. This complex position is difficult to find. How do you find one and how do you make sure you have the right skills and experience to get it? We spoke to Mike Caulfield – Senior Strategy Engineer on the Haas F1 Team – to find out more.
What is your role
My job title is Senior Strategy Engineer and heads the strategy group in Race Engineering. I am responsible for deciding the racing strategy during an event, when to box, which tires will fit and to analyze our performance against the competition. Outside of race weekends, I lead my group on what analyzes to look at, how we review the work we have completed at an event, and how we can develop and refine the tools we use.
What are your tasks and main tasks?
One of the best things about being a strategy engineer is that he covers a wide range of areas within an F1 team. The main focus is on giving a clear understanding of the optimal strategy in a race on a race weekend and then focusing the engineers and drivers on what we need to achieve over the course of an event in order to expand our knowledge and data and try to to do so answer any unknowns the team may have.
All of this comes together during the race, when it comes to putting all the data collected into action and, based on that information, making quick decisions about how the race is going and what the competitors are doing. However, this work begins weeks beforehand. As we get closer to the race, a strategy engineer runs pre-event simulations, building on the tire selection data, and running updated simulations based on any further information sent. This then helps define the running plans and goals as we go into an event weekend.
During a race weekend, the role of a strategy engineer is to collect all of the data we get from the practice sessions related to tire performance / degradation, competitiveness and general understanding of the weekend.
Outside of a racing weekend, the job usually requires some form of analysis or development. Because the strategy group requires an in-depth understanding of relative competitiveness, the group can also help other areas of the business, such as aerodynamics and mechanical design, identify where others could perform better, thereby highlighting the overall direction the team may need to go to achieve the Improve performance.
Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
How do you become a strategy engineer?
Strategy Engineer positions are rarely advertised and if so, some experience in the field is usually required. However, some teams have started recruiting Graduate Strategy Engineers, which is a good entry-level position. Since the role requires a broad understanding of the performance characteristics of a Formula 1 car, the transferable skills from the areas of driving dynamics and aerodynamics are usually an advantage. If you are already part of an F1 team, it would help tremendously if you wanted to follow the strategy path by volunteering on a race weekend to gain work experience in strategy.
What qualifications do you need?
Ideally, a master’s degree in a MINT subject is required.
What should you learn in school?
As with most engineering professions, math and physics are important skills. Building on this, computer science and / or programming experience are an advantage.
What other skills are useful?
One of the key skills a strategy engineer needs is an awareness and understanding of what is happening at any point in a racing weekend. This evolves with experience, but being a fan of F1 before jumping into the series helps the development curve so having some knowledge and enthusiasm for the role is important. The role also requires long hours and weekend work, so an interest in motorsport is desirable in order to cope with the intense hours required. However, current knowledge from the past is more than acceptable. It is not necessary to know every world champion since the 1950s, and while an interest in other motor sports can be useful, knowledge outside of Formula 1 is not required. The best candidates also have some interest in non-motorsport sports, which overall offers a more rounded approach. With data analytics and sports data performance in high demand in many fields, a passionate understanding of other sports can also open up areas of how to apply new concepts to Formula 1 that are used in other places like football, rugby, cycling, etc.
Mick Schumacher, Haas F1
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
How can I gain work experience?
As mentioned above, finding work experience in a strategy role is difficult as most junior formulas do not have this as a dedicated role due to a lack of information. However, it would be beneficial to have some work experience as a data engineer and then ask for help with what they are currently doing regarding strategy.
If you are still at university, it would be useful to win this network and try to develop your own strategy software for these teams. If you currently work for a Formula 1 team, volunteer to help out with racing support over a weekend. Finally, write to Strategy Engineers like me on LinkedIn and ask questions. You may not get an immediate answer, but figuring out which areas to look at is a good step.
Can you take part in races?
As a senior member, my role requires going to races. It is important to be involved in conversations with the engineers, drivers, and Pirelli as I will repeat the point above that understanding what is going on at each point of the weekend makes a successful strategy engineer. Prior to this position, I worked in race support for seven years, which allowed me to build my understanding and experience in a less pressured environment. That prepared me for the increased demands that are made on the track. Working with a wide range of people across the team, trust is an important factor in my role and it is the understanding and experience I gained in a factory role that would take several years before the transition to a route role is made possible .
What does a working day look like for a strategy engineer?
There is no such thing as a normal day. Most of the work is computer-based, but when you work with the pit crew at pit stops, it takes some time to talk and work with them. Once a season starts, the general work revolves around preparing for the next event or analyzing the previous one. As soon as a race weekend is just around the corner, Thursday is usually about getting everything ready. Friday is a long day with two training sessions followed by an analysis that usually leads us to curfew. Saturday is another long day for a strategy engineer as we have a night of work ahead of us, going over all possible scenarios, planning the race and making sure they are prepared for the next day’s race. Sunday is a stressful but exciting day that often requires quick, thoughtful decisions and hoping that Saturday night’s homework will be enough!
This article was produced in collaboration with Motorsport Jobs. Find the latest jobs in motorsport, as well as jobs with the Haas F1 Team, on the Motorsport Jobs website.
The post How to become a Strategy Engineer in F1 – Skills, Skills & More first appeared on monter-une-startup.
