In the world of motorsport, women have come so far to show that they deserve their place in the industry. From drivers to strategists to engineers, the representation of women in roles such as these has grown over the past decades, but many women still face barriers when involved in such a fast-changing, male-dominated environment. One woman as such, is a leading example of an outstanding role model, who has inspired many girls to follow their passions, whether it be in motorsport or elsewhere, regardless of the challenges that they may face. That woman is Ruth Buscombe, the British strategy engineer for the Alfa Romeo Racing Formula 1 team.
From an early age, Ruth Buscombe was interested in motorsport from the young age of 11, having fallen in love when watching with her father. Her aspirations ranged from becoming an astronaut, to a princess, to wanting to be in Formula 1. She thoroughly enjoyed mathematics in school, but was dissuaded by her teachers from pursuing engineering, not because she was not good at it, but because they questioned her on her desire to be involved in the field. Not letting this stop her, she graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first-class honours degree in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering, moving forward to complete a Master’s Degree of the effects of the F1 car’s drag reduction system according to Wikipedia.
“As girls grow up they get an onslaught of ‘this is what women do and this is what men do’ and unless you are very sure and very stubborn like I was, someone that is teetering between choices gets a story from teachers and the media that this sort of career is for boys." (The Guardian)
Her involvement in engineering reached the motorsport industry, where she started to work for Ferrari in 2012 as a simulations development engineer. Moving on to leaving Ferrari in 2015, she then worked for Haas, helping to secure one of Haas’ best results, a fifth place in Australia and sixth place in Bahrain for one of the previous Haas drivers, Romain Grosjean. She generally worked very well with the drivers but described the task at hand as more demanding than working with the drivers themselves, in an interview with The Guardian.
“With certain people that I have come across you have a necessity to prove your worth,” she says. “You have to be sure of yourself. Every time you have that struggle it makes you stronger, strengthens your resolve, and means you can perform better because you want it so much.” She described her regularly repeating situation as a ‘prove it again’ situation, stating that “You have to always prove your worth and value more than if you were a man that didn’t have that bias against you.”
Leaving Haas in 2016, she was welcomed to the motorsport engineering company Sauber, to be involved within the Alfa Romeo F1 racing team, because then team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, had been an inspiration to Buscombe whilst she was studying in university.
She described the environment at Sauber at the time as such: “At Sauber, we have a female principal, which really sets the mood for the whole team. No one at Sauber cares whether you are a man or a woman, all we care about is working as a team and getting the best results.”
Now working as the F1 Senior race strategist for the team, she is showing more and more girls their potential and making her mark in the motorsport industry as an FIA Girls On Track Ambassador. According to ESPN, Ruth states
"I have managed to get some young females in work experience, as one of them wants to be a driver, another wants to be a mechanic. So in that perspective, it's made a difference on some people's career paths.”
She is currently continuing to work with the Alfa Romeo Racing Team and wants to encourage more girls into motorsport and engineering as part of the Girls on Track UK Initiative. She hopes it will encourage more girls and show that they can pursue their dreams, even if it is within a male-dominated field like the motorsport industry.
Her many achievements and work ethic have proven her to be extremely capable, paving the way for many more girls to know that they can achieve their dreams too. Ultimately an inspiration to many, Ruth is one of the many women who serve as a leader and role model for women in motorsport, empowering and providing girls with more confidence and drive to achieve their goals and to positively impact the motorsport industry itself, by changing the existing perceptions against women working or competing in motorsport.
She continues to impact the industry, as opportunities open up for aspiring female drivers and industry professionals to make their mark and ultimately, be the best in whatever they choose to do.
References: [1] RICHARDS, GILES. "Ruth Buscombe: ‘F1 Drivers Don’t Care if a Woman or a Chipmunk Calls the Shots’." The Guardian, 16 May 2017, www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/may/16/f1-formula-one-women-ruth-buscombe-sauber.
[2] "Ruth Buscombe." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 20 Apr. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Buscombe. Accessed 2 Sept. 2023.
[3[ McNamara, Rebecca. "Motorsport UK Celebrates International Women in Engineering Day." Motorsport UK, 23 June 2023, www.motorsportuk.org/motorsport-uk-celebrates-international-women-in-engineering-day/.
[4] Lewis, Niamh. "The Women Who Power F1: Engineers, Mechanics and Directors on Their Role in Changing a Man's World." ESPN.com, 11 Mar. 2021, www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/31038834/the-women-power-formula-one-engineers-mechanics-directors-their-role-changing-man-world.
Image references: [1] https://f1i.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/large-2023-Bahrain-Grand-Prix-Sunday.jpg
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