How Lucy Gould Went From Performing Arts to F2 Mechanic

Lucy's early career and start in racing

#1. What was the first moment you discovered racing?

I think the first moment that I discovered racing was when I was a lot younger through my grandad. He raced classic cars and built them in his garage at the end of the garden so I used to go and tinker with him and he used to watch Formula 1 and that's how I sort of got my interest in racing.

Greg: How old were you at the time?

I think there are photos of me from when I was three or four years old wearing a really small mechanic suit, so probably around that age but I don’t really remember. I think the first time I really remember watching it was when I was about six or seven.

#2. When did you decide the racing industry is where you wanted to build your career?

It wasn’t actually until a lot later on that I decided that I wanted to do motorsports as a career. I think it was 2021 and I kind of got to a point where I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career and I was struggling to choose a course to do in college. So, in the end, I decided that I would just do something that I enjoyed and I was going to go into performing arts until the last minute.

Greg: I was not expecting that!

I know! And then at the last minute I said, “Mum, I wanna go and be a mechanic.”

Greg: So you were signed up, ready to go for performing arts, and then you switched last minute? Had you ever done anything like this before that point?

No. So I went to a college here in Silverstone, The National College for Motorsport, and I did only 6 weeks there before I got offered my job with Rodin. So I did that through work experience. And then, yeah, just got offered the job at the end of my weeks, so I was really grateful for that, but I wouldn’t have been able to have that opportunity without the college.

Greg: When you were in school, were you interning? How did Rodin find you?

The National College for Motorsport does Level 2 and Level 3 courses in motorsport mechanics, so I signed up for that, and started going there. Since it’s on Silverstone campus, you can get access to the circuit when teams are testing or racing. I had previously contacted Rodin about getting work experience by email, but I didn’t get a reply, and I did the same to loads of different teams. So, I took the opportunity when they were here for a British F4 weekend to walk down to the circuit and I stood outside the awning for ages until somebody came over and was like, "can I help you?" And I was like, "yeah, I’d like to speak to your team manager because I’d like some work experience." They were just about to get ready for a session so they told me to come back later, so I did after my classes and I stood for two hours under the awning just watching them do their evening prep and they gave me loads of contacts at the end of it because every other student had gone home, so it was a little bit of perseverance and waiting. I looked like a crazy person but I was very keen on getting that work experience so they offered me a week of work experience at their factory in Farnham. So I went there and it was just Monday to Friday, and on the Friday afternoon I had a conversation with Stephanie Carlin and they offered me a job straight from there.

College taught me to take the opportunity because it is really hard to get into the motorsport industry. It’s one of those places where once you’re in, you’re in. So it’s important to break through and take your opportunity.

Lucy's current role

#3. What’s your current role and what does a standard day look like?

My current role now is that I’m a #3 mechanic with the Rodin Motorsport F2 Team. I support the #1 and #2 mechanics with anything they need, whether that’s helping them prep the cars or tires. I also do the front wings and the fuel. There are quite a few jobs in all aspects within the garage, so I try to get involved and be helpful wherever I can and I find it really cool to have a lot of really experienced people around me that are willing to teach me and help me learn new things and help me progress my career as well.

A standard day for me depends on whether we’re at the circuit or at the factory.

Greg: Let’s say a day at the factory.

Ok, so at the factory, we turn up at about 8:30am. If you have the cars at the factory, it’s usually a little rebuild and prep; gear boxes, drive shafts, we'll do the corners, uprights. So it’s just a case of prepping the cars and making sure they’re ready for the next race weekend or test. Then usually it’s loading the truck or the freight, getting ready to go to the next place.

Normally we don’t have a very long turnaround unless it’s summer or winter break, so we’ll only have two weeks to do everything that we need to. Obviously the trucks and the freight have a deadline for when they need to leave too. Normally it’s quite chill in the factory and we just have a nice time making sure everything is ready and prepared for the next round.

#4. What are the most rewarding and the most challenging parts of your role?

Rewarding

I think the most rewarding part of my role is definitely when we win or get a podium. It’s a really nice feeling within the team when you get a good result and all the hard work pays off.

Challenging

I think the most challenging aspect is definitely being away from home a lot. There is a lot of travel involved with it, so you miss big events and that sort of thing. But at the same time, I also love the travel and the job, so it swings around about I guess.

The other most challenging bit? I know a lot of people would probably expect me to say being a female in a male-dominated industry, but I’ve never felt out of place, I guess. I’ve always really enjoyed working with everyone that I get to spend time with, and I don’t think they treat me any differently than anybody else. And that’s how I want it to be. It’s just one big family and we’ll happily all go out for dinner or that sort of thing, so there are definitely a lot less challenges than I expected there to be. Especially with the jump from F4 to F2, it’s just been a matter of easing myself into it and taking the time to learn how everything is done properly.

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#5. What are the top 3 qualities that have helped you succeed in your role?

Committed and dedicated

I’m not really one to talk about myself like that, but even with just my week of work experience I drove two hours to the factory and two hours back, every day, for that week because I couldn’t afford a hotel. I just drove there and back. Once [Rodin] found that out, I think it proved to them that I was really determined to get a job with them.

Adaptability

I think also just being able to adapt to everything. You could suddenly have a problem in the pit lane and if you start to panic that’s when things go wrong. It’s important to keep a calm, level head and do what needs to be done and normally it’s over so much quicker.

‍Fast learner

I think just being able to pick things up quickly and being able to learn different skills. There are all sorts of things that go into the motorsport industry. It’s not just the mechanic's side of it. You’re not just putting some nuts and bolts into the cars all day. There are so many other things you have to learn how to do. Especially as you move up through the levels of motorsport, everything gets more complex, so being able to learn how to pick up a different car quickly [helps].

Lucy's advice

#6. If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, what would that be?

This is such a tricky question. I’m one of those people that wouldn't want to change anything that’s happened to get me to where I am now. Because, I think, if I would have changed something from my past I wouldn’t be here now, I think I’d be doing something completely different. So, I really like the journey of getting to where I am today.

I think for my younger self, it's just a reminder to believe in yourself and not to put yourself down as much. Have some confidence in yourself because other people have confidence in you. Also, maybe learn to take a compliment. When someone says "well done," learn to just say thank you and not say what you could have done better.

#7. What advice would you give to someone looking to be in your position?

Don’t give up or don’t be put off by the process of getting into the industry. I think the rejection for a lot of people is quite tricky. It’s not always harsh rejection. Sometimes it'll just be an email saying there is no availability for jobs or work experience right now and sometimes you don’t even get a reply!

My advice is just send an email, and if you don’t hear back send another. You could also try calling someone and if there is a team close by, go to the factory and knock on the door and ask if there is any work experience because you want to get involved.

But yeah, it is off-putting for a lot of people and it is hard to start with. But getting work experience is such a key thing in this industry because it’s so hands-on. For people to see how you work in that environment they need a little snippet that you can’t really get on a CV, so that’s very important. Also, just believe in yourself. If it’s something you’re really passionate about, just keep going even if people say it’s not achievable. I had a lot of people think that I wouldn't be able to do anything with it, or that I'd just be doing club level racing. But I said I want to do go and do F2, F1. I want to experience motorsport at the highest level so I'm going to give it everything that I have to get to where I am today.

Lucy's career highlights

#8. What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

I’ve had a few wins with Rodin now. We were very successful last year in F1 Academy with Abbi Pulling where we won the championship, so the feeling within the team then was really nice. We all celebrated at the end of the year once we had won, and last year again we won a race in Spanish F4 at the start of the season.

I had started doing Spanish F4 the first year that Rodin did it, so I’ve kind of experienced it from just starting out to winning the race. That was a really exciting moment as a team to see how far we’ve come.

F2 this year has been really cool, we’ve had tons of podiums and wins and they're always really nice. The feeling within the team is- everyone's on a high.

#9. If you could work a race at any track around the world which would you choose?

There are so many! For current F1 tracks, I'd like to go to Interlagos. With the past F1 tracks, I’d like to go to Kyalami because, I don’t know, I feel like it’s a really cool track so I’d want to experience that. Maybe in the future we'll have an F1 race back in Africa.

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