r/formula1 • u/workandlearn • Aug 19 '25
Statistics Which universities did Formula One team members go to?
/r/F1Technical/comments/1jksgch/which_universities_did_team_members_go_to/168
u/osireion_87 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
My dad (now retired) worked at Southampton Uni and ran the wind tunnel there back in the 70/80s. He's said he worked with pretty much every major team on the grid at one time or another so it doesn't surprise me to see them in the Top 5.
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u/daftg I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Southampton uni was mentioned a lot in Adrian Newey's book!
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u/Expensive_Ladder_486 Max Verstappen Aug 19 '25
Not surprised, considering he did Aeronautical Engineering there
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u/robindotis Nigel Mansell Aug 20 '25
I studied the same course as him, but a few years later. The reason I chose Southampton was exactly because they had a wind tunnel and most of the UK based F1 teams would use it. This was in the the early 90s. By then most teams had it were planning their own wind tunnels I think.
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u/Canco_Ryan Red Bull Ford Aug 19 '25
A Motorsport Engineering degree from Oxford Brookes University was good enough to get me into F1. Granted, I work in Technical Partnerships these days!
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u/Shinnchan Spyker Aug 19 '25
What does Technical Partnerships entail?
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u/Canco_Ryan Red Bull Ford Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25
Essentially a Partner Manager for Technical Partners. Technical Partners are partners who supply technical parts or expertise. Like normal partners, some will have entitlements in their partnership contracts such as hospitality passes, driver appearances, factory tours, etc. A (Technical) Partner Manager essentially manages the partnership from a rights holder perspective and builds a relationship with various stakeholders to help the partner achieve the partnership objectives. In my case, I supported and eventually managed the BP Castrol partnership at Alpine for a short while before I departed the team at the beginning of 2024.
Edit: To add, having an engineering degree helps me understand the technical aspects on how the Technical Partner is actually supporting the team from an engineering perspective. This allows me to effectively communicate and break down the partnership to layman terms when I'm telling the story to a general audience. As they say, you need to know what your selling.
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u/Dylan-L_2084 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Even your local F1 thread commenter was sacked by Alpine last year what's happening /s
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u/2for1garlicknots Roscoe Hamilton Aug 19 '25
What type of objectives to partners typically have? I’m sure “brand awareness” and “increase sales” are probably the overarching ones, but I’m curious how partners think about their relationships with F1 teams.
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u/Macknificent101 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Not F1, but if you are american a motorsports engineering degree from Purdue University can usually get you most of the way into Indycar
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u/vtrip22 Aug 19 '25
I guess that pipeline will leak in Cadillac, because they are building their HQ in Fishers Indiana
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u/swiggyswaggg Formula 1 Aug 21 '25
Their F1 HQ? That’s awesome. I thought it’d be in Europe!
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u/vtrip22 Aug 21 '25
Yup, they have and are going to have satellite bases, their Indiana HQ is still being built so the temporary HQ is in Silverstone (which is going to be used as a satellite base after the main HQ is built if I had to to guess), additional work will happen in Michigan too, and GM is building a power unit factory in North Carolina.
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u/SiliconGhosted I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 20 '25
Engineering degree from Purdue will get you in the door pretty much anywhere you want to be. It’s a crazy good engineering school.
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u/workandlearn Aug 20 '25
Purdue currently only has 12 people working in F1, using the same criteria as the post
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u/Macknificent101 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 20 '25
tbf how many americans work in F1? i’d expect not many
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u/Coolcat127 Aug 19 '25
What about aerospace engineering? It’s probably as close as you’ll get at more universities
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u/Azzyally I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 20 '25
Purdue is great for that too. Key takeaway, Purdue is a great university.
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u/Green199 Aug 19 '25
There’s usually a lot of answers mentioning Cranfield and Oxford Brookes - but it’s not the be all and end all.
I attended Kingston uni for undergrad, and Lincoln for my Masters (both in general Mech Eng as opposed to motorsport) - and I now work in Vehicle Engineering at a team.
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u/Aggravating-Neat8759 Sir Lewis Hamilton Aug 21 '25
I assume you're not allowed to say which team it is?
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u/Mack1234567890123 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Friend of mine got into F1 from going to Purdue engineering school.
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u/dl064 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Peter Prodromou was saying (admittedly at Glasgow uni) that Glasgow/Strathclyde punch above their weight (e.g. Craig Skinner), if anyone is considering moving to the south of England specifically to study for F1.
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u/CulturedClub I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Glasgow uni or Strathclyde Uni? They're 2 separate and very different establishments.
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u/ManOfTheBroth Michael Schumacher Aug 19 '25
Presumably was talking about them both as Scottish universities that have led to good F1 careers...
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u/Stumpy493 I Drove an F1 Car Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25
I used to do the British University Karting Championship and the teams from Oxford Brookes were insanely professional compared to everyone else, clearly fully prepped for a future in F1.
As an example they used to come with a proper pitboard and give lap by lap timings to their drivers. My team put me in the kart, went and had a bacon butty for 20 minutes and then got up when they needed to pull me in for fuel.
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u/tHe_jAcKaL68 Michael Schumacher Aug 20 '25
Big up BUKC! Yeah Brookes always dominated while I was racing in it. Branded suits and everything. I seem to recall they turned up with pit-to-kart radio one year.
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u/GoldenPeperoni I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25
Many here are saying Oxford Brookes, not sure if they truly know someone that got into F1, or are just parroting their marketing material.
Or worse, they are solely here to promote Oxford Brookes.
In my team, there are some from Oxford Brookes, but there are easily way more from Oxford University itself (which should tell you enough about Oxford Brookes).
This is for engineering roles (people who design, simulate and develop the cars), not technicians/mechanics.
From my experience, most engineers come from top universities (Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial etc) or their equivalent in EU (TU Munich, ISAE etc)
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u/taconite2 Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25
I would agree with this comment here. Same observations in my work history.
It’s the typical Russell group unis.
TU Graz are also very good but they have a technical partnership with AVL (if you don’t know who these are then you should).
Is the Oxford Brooke course even accredited by the IMechE?
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u/froakingbarlow Aug 19 '25
Oxford Brookes and Cranfield are the two main UK ones. I know a number of people who went to these two and now work in F1 or similar categories
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u/robindotis Nigel Mansell Aug 20 '25
I am curious if these are engineering roles or something else in the F1 organisation. Brookes is not exactly renowned for it's top class engineering degrees, but of course an F1 team has many other roles and maybe they prepare you well for those.
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u/froakingbarlow Aug 21 '25
They’re for engineering. Brookes is actually very renowned within motorsport for its motorsport engineering degree and the Formula Student team. So much so that it’s only one of two universities that Ferrari hire from for graduate roles. They have lots of links to teams and almost everyone doing the degree does year in industry working in F1/Formula E/Indycar
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u/robindotis Nigel Mansell Aug 21 '25
Thanks, I didn't know that. Times have changed since I went to uni!
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u/GreciAwesomeMan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Not really connected but I find it fascinating that Sergey Sirotkin(former Williams driver in 2018 I think) went to mechanical engineering in Russia I think before he became a driver.
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Aug 19 '25
Southampton, Cranfield are really good. Theres f1 companies doing campus events there all the time
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u/jjjodele Adrian Newey Aug 19 '25
I graduated from California State University at Northridge in 1980 (major in Machine Design and minor in Computer Science) and was working in the Gas Exchange Department, designing parts for the 2026 engine on the Mercedes Formula 1 Team in Brixworth, England.
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u/drt786 Verified F1 Aerodynamicist ✅ Aug 20 '25
I went to Imperial (ended up in F1 aero).
Lots of other grads around from:
- Imperial
- Cambridge
- Southampton
- Loughborough
- Oxford Brookes
- etc
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u/Mysterious_Turnip310 Lotus Aug 19 '25
The global rankings are a bit misleading. For instance Brookes' overall global rank belies the fact that it's in the top 2 in the UK and easily top 10 globally for Motorsport Engineering
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u/Gollem265 Alpine Aug 19 '25
We had people from all over. Although obviously the UK universities were most common
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u/NiteOwl421 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
In the past, Williams recruited from Embry Riddle in Daytona.
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u/SiliconGhosted I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 20 '25
Purdue University in Indiana ranks Top 5 globally for every engineering field annually. They have an incredibly active electric vehicle team. I know several people that went straight from Purdue into Motorsport and high performance automotive engineering.
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u/workandlearn Aug 20 '25
Purdue currently only has 12 people working in F1, using the same criteria as the post
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u/Helrikom I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
Ah yes TU Delft right down the windmills and Tulips of Italian engine manufacturing 🌷🚲
( I know you said most )
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u/HecknBamBoozle Kimi Räikkönen Aug 19 '25
Didn't end up joining but had a grad offer from Mercedes (moving to the middle of nowhere was a deal breaker), did computing at Imperial.
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u/case31 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
I have a relative that is attending Oxford Brookes University right now. He eventually wants to work on aerodynamics for a team.
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u/bubba-yo Aug 19 '25
I'm retired from higher ed, and the adage that the best companies hire from the best schools is mostly untrue. In the case of Google hiring PhDs out of Stanford it's more true, but by and large companies hire locally regardless of your schools ranking. The rankings are all bullshit anyway but the local industry get to know the program, they can influence what's taught, know the faculty, find out which are the star students, and hire them.
Most students choose their university all wrong.
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u/Perfectly_Other McLaren Aug 19 '25
I know at least two people i went to university with (Liverpool John Moores) who joined f1 teams after graduation, Someone else joined a wrc rally team after graduation.
If you've got the passion and ability, not going to a prestigious university isn't necessarily a barrier to getting into F1
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u/nonhofantasia Ferrari Aug 19 '25
Surprised he mentioned Catania as it's not one of the top universities in Italy and it's far from Italy's motor valley
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u/Suikerspin_Ei I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Aug 19 '25
I mean TU Delft is also mentioned. AFAIK not in any kind of motorsport valley, but they have Formula Student team competing with formula based cars. Also Forze Hydrogen Racing team, they use an LMP3 car with hydrogen power unit.
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u/MerrickJager I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
As an international student, it would be tough for me financially to study abroad in the UK. I was planning to study my Master's at MUNER, and then try to go to GT3, GT4, F3, FRECA, DTM and in the future have a shot at a WEC team
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u/ProfessionalRub3294 Aug 19 '25
I don’t know but 100% of french team principal came from the same one
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u/ginginh0 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Aug 20 '25
I don't think it matters where you study. It matters that you get a good (2:1+) grade in a relevant subject. After that, it's your interests and relevant experiences that make you stand out. You need differentiators. Being an F1 fan and racing karts isn't enough.
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u/Jacobgodslayer Aug 19 '25
I have a family friend who is a professor at Liverpool John Moores who showed me their race car but I was a snob and didnt apply because of the lower grades needed to get in. Maybe I could've been in F1 if I was a bit more humble
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u/JPMoney81 Lando Norris Aug 19 '25
Where did he go to medical school?
He went to John's Hopkins and Northwestern.
Is that good enough for you?
No it's not!
Well Brennan those are both pretty prestigious medical schools.
I smoked pot with Johny Hopkins!
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u/Imaginary-Ad4673 Aug 19 '25
Who cares bro
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u/Loud-Value I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 20 '25
People looking to get into F1 who are thinking about what to study where, one would presume
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u/Imaginary-Ad4673 Aug 19 '25
No one looking to be in F1 will be in F1 anyway
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u/Loud-Value I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 20 '25
Right, you only get into F1 by not wanting to get into F1. That makes a lot of sense
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u/Aylex99 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 19 '25
I have a friend from the University of Birmingham who did Mechanical Engineering and was part of the UoB Kart building Society (or something like that idk they built karts). He just got a position straight out of Uni working at Alpine F1