WILTSHIRE College & University Centre Motorsport Engineering student Rachel Robertson says she’ll learn from her mistakes after an error cost her a penalty in her Formula 1 Academy debut in Shanghai.
The 18-year-old, who is in the second year of her Level 3 course at the College’s Chippenham campus, collided with another driver during the second of her two races and was given a five-place grid penalty for her next race.
She was making her first permanent start for the PUMA car, operated by Hitech GP, after impressing in a drive in the last meeting of last season in Las Vegas.
She finished tenth in Saturday’s first race, showing she can compete with her more experienced rivals in the female-only series. The collision during Sunday’s second race meant she finished 15th.
She was penalised after the race stewards decided that she accumulated dust on her tyres after running off the track on the preceding lap. When she next braked hard she misjudged the state of the tyres, which led to the unavoidable collision with wild card driver Shi Wei.
Undaunted, she said the two races showed her she can be a force in the competition for the rest of the season. “My pace was competitive all weekend,” she said. “I learned the hard way how much the track changes with the rubber from the F1 cars, so was on the back foot for the races. Though, the first race was a great battle and I pulled off some good overtakes.
“In the second race I made a couple of rookie errors but all in all it was good learning for the next round.”
The series runs alongside the Formula 1 competition on the same circuits, which meant Rachel and her dad Colin, who travelled to China with her, were at the heart of the action as the new season got under way.
“It was a brilliant experience,” she said. “I love the track, the city is great and the whole F1 Grand Prix weekend is just so cool to be part of. It was so amazing seeing the media attention about my story back in the UK, and it was great to be able to help promote the F1 Academy.”
Rachel, and the college, were featured in The Sun, The Times and on the BBC over the weekend.
Colin said Rachel, who is heading back to reality – and college – this week, felt comfortable amid the non-stop colour and noise of the F1 circus. “She feels very confident she can progress as the season goes on,” he said. “She’s feeling very positive and she knows she can do well.”
She will have to wait until the weekend of May 22 for her next adventure in the second round of six, in Montreal, Canada, as next month’s scheduled meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was called off because of the uncertain situation in the Middle East.
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Rachel says studying Motorsport Engineering alongside racing has helped her better understand the technical side of the sport. “The course gives me that background knowledge about how the car works,” she said. “If my engineer asks what’s wrong with the car after a session, I can often pinpoint the component or understand what changes need to be made. That knowledge definitely gives me an advantage on track.”
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