By Isabel Clark
Since its inaugural race in 1950 Formula One has been the pinnacle of international single-seater open wheeled motorsport – and for much of that a male dominated field. However, now an increasing number females are taking their place on the pit wall, helping to shape one of the most strategically complexed environments in sport.
Modern F1 races are no longer decided on driving talent alone. Every team is underpinned by strategy engineers who analyse data, model scenarios and have to make split-second decisions, which can determine the outcome of a race.
In recent years there has been a rise in the number of females stepping into these high pressured roles.
Ruth Buscombe Divey:
Ruth Buscombe Divey has been widely recognised as being the first female race strategist in the sport.
After completing her master’s degree that included work with the FIA on the Drag Reduction System (DRS), Buscombe Divey began her career with Scuderia Ferrari in 2012. Within a year she was working at the team’s headquarters in Maranello. In 2015, she joined Haas F1 team, becoming a pit wall strategy engineer before moving to Alfa Romeo F1 team – now competing under the Kick Sauber name – where she remained until 2024.
In a race that has been widely credited as securing Sauber’s financial survival, Buscombe Divey was part of the team that executed a strategy allowing Felipe Nasr to finish 9th. His result scored the crucial points allowing them to overtake Manor Racing in the Constructors Championship standings.
Since stepping away from the pit wall, she has made the transition into broadcasting with F1 TV, offering technical insights and contributed to the technical and strategic information required for “F1: The Movie”. Alongside this, with her historic legacy she continues to challenge the norms of working in the male dominated field, supporting initiatives like the ‘Dare to be Different’ Campaign formed by Susie Wolff and Rob Jones in 2016.
Bernice Collins:
Bernice ‘Bernie’ Collins has followed a similar path from the garage to broadcasting.
Beginning her career at McLaren in 2015, she gained first-hand experience of the intense pressure that comes with elite-level racing through work in performance-related roles. This seemingly laid the foundations for her career specialising in race strategy.
Later that year she joined, the British based team, Aston Martin – formerly known as Force India – where she progressed up the strategy ladder. For the 2021 and 2022 season, she occupied one of the most senior strategy positions in F1 before leaving the team at the Hungaroring in the 2022 season.
Born in Northern Ireland, Collins has become a standout presence in the broadcasting team at Sky Sports F1 since joining them in 2023. Her ability to translate complex strategy into accessible language means fans can understand more about the hard work that goes on behind the track action.
Hannah Schmitz:
Currently serving as Principal Strategy Engineer at Red Bull Racing, Schmitz is one of the most recognisable figures on the modern pit wall.
After graduating from Cambridge in 2009, she joined Red Bull in a simulation-based engineering role working not only on the simulations but creation of potential strategies. After two years, she was promoted to Senior Strategy Engineer with responsibilities including: conducting live race strategy, competitor analysis and developing software algorithms to aid the process of making split second decisions under the intense pressures. In 2021, she took on her leading role.
Since starting, she has helped to secure countless victories for the team and their drivers by taking tactical risks which sometimes differ from the other teams. For example, during the 2022 Hungry Grand Prix, her decision to go against the pack and chose not to use hard tyres meant Max Verstappen was able to undercut the grid moving from 10th to first.
Often visible during race broadcasts — and frequently present beneath the podium — Schmitz has become a prominent symbol of the evolving faces of Formula 1 strategy.
Roise Wait:
Another 2009 graduate of Cambridge University is Rosie Wait. As Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ Head of Race Strategy, Wait took on a variety of roles to get to where she is today.
Having first joined F1 in 2009 with McLaren, she remained with the Papaya team until 2013. Initially her role was a Vehicle Dynamics Engineer with a focus on aerodynamics and analysis tools, before transitioning into strategic engineering and simulation development roles. Departing the team in 2013 she joined Atlassian Williams F1 Team as the Performance Projects Team Leader.
By 2017, Wait moved to Mercedes to pursue a previous role of hers: Race Strategy Engineer. After impressing quickly, she was promoted to Head of Race Strategy in December 2018 and has since played a central role in guiding one of the most successful teams of the hybrid era.
Alongside the increasing number of other female’s working behind the scenes within Formula 1, these women continue to be a visible reflection of the diversifying nature. Strategic authority is no longer confined to a single demographic, with the stopwatch now in more diverse hands.
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