Feature
Career Spotlight: Meet Georgie Watson, Paddock Operations Manager at F1 ACADEMY
When it comes to an F1 ACADEMY weekend, the three days of on-track action are only a small part of a story that begins months in advance. Dealing with the logistics of travelling to seven different locations spread across three continents, no two paddocks are alike for Georgie Watson, the series’ Paddock Operations Manager.
In the newest addition to our Career Spotlight series, we caught up with Watson to discover what goes on behind the scenes to bring the paddock to life and how she creates an environment that works for teams tinkering away on the cars, while giving fans a unique experience.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A RACE WEEKEND?
“We prepare for a race weekend many months in advance with the promoters and the circuits. We will work on the paddock layouts and paddock designs for the initial conversations and then after that, beginning to look at how we can fit all our requirements into the paddock for the teams to work best. Every metre counts for us!
“No paddock is the same. We will have different footprints in every paddock, different terrain and different layouts. So it’s really working out what our needs are, how we can make the maximum benefits from the paddocks that we are given and really having a thinking outside the box attitude to fit everything in and in order to be able to do that in a unique way for each circuit.”
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WEEKEND LOOK LIKE AT THE TRACK?
“The main part of my role is actually pre-event and post event, so hopefully for me, the race weekend should be the easiest part. If I’ve done everything to get everyone in their right positions and make sure that as the teams come in and work efficiently, then I should have an easier ride.
“I turn up to the track normally around two weeks before the race. We’ll be here to get every piece of infrastructure built beforehand. It’s a blank canvas when we turn up! We’ll get the garages built and the offices built. We need to make sure the fuel is in place and then we work with DHL on the freight movements to make sure that the freight is in its areas for when the teams arrive on-site.
“The branding is a big part. When branding have an idea, they work with me on how to operationally make that work and how we build that into the paddock. Having the branding in place to make sure that we give the best exposure to everyone in F1 ACADEMY while also making it structurally sound is very important and difficult.”
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS YOU NEED?
“Being able to be flexible. No paddock is the same, there is no one-size-fits-all. We really need that attention to detail to make sure that we can make the most picturesque paddock we can, whilst also being the most operationally functional.”
WHERE DID YOU WORK BEFORE YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
“Before working in F1 ACADEMY, I was working in F1. I worked on the Fan Zone and retail side, still in operations pre-event and post-event.”
WHAT DID YOU STUDY AT SCHOOL OR UNIVERSITY AND HOW DID THAT HELP YOU ON YOUR CAREER PATH?
“I studied International Events Management, which was a perfect degree for my role. I also had a placement year working with automotive events, so I always knew that this was going to be the industry that I'd like to end up in.”
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
“The most rewarding part is when the cars come out from the garages and head on to the track. That’s really where you get that sense of relief knowing that you have done the best of your job so far.
“In terms of my favourite part, I would say it’s probably being able to be creative with the paddock layout and paddock designs. Being able to focus on how we can make the best image for F1 ACADEMY, whilst also bringing the optimal layout for everybody operationally.”
WHAT’S THE TOUGHEST ASPECT OF YOUR ROLE OR A CHALLENGE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EXPECT?
“It’s definitely underestimated how much it takes to build a structure, let alone an entire paddock. It's certainly challenging when you turn up on-site, there's always going to be something different to how you've planned it on your laptop or on your designs.
“There's going to be something that crops up that you need to adapt and be flexible to in order to be able to build any structure or infrastructure or have something in place.”
ANY CAREER HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR?
“The move over to F1 ACADEMY has been a career highlight for me. Being able to work with such a supportive and inspiring series, and to be able to really work from the ground up with them. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s coming for the future of F1 ACADEMY.”
IS THERE ANYONE IN MOTORSPORT WHO INSPIRED YOU OR SUPPORTED YOU?
“Definitely my manager Delphine Biscaye (Head of Race Operations at F1 ACADEMY). She has always supported me throughout and really made me believe that we can make this paddock so much better than the initial image we might have of it. She will help me realise that any challenges can actually be a positive way to look at how we can make something different or better.”
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE FUNNIEST MOMENTS YOU’VE EXPERIENCED IN THE INDUSTRY?
“The funniest moments are always working with the crew and the staff on-site. There’s always something that we can find that will be that circuit’s moment of the month. Normally, turning up to somewhere and realising that something isn’t how we imagined, having to make that into something new. Seeing if we can work around it and seeing if anyone will notice what we’ve changed to make it work.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF ABOUT EMBARKING ON A CAREER IN MOTORSPORT?
“Being a hard worker is not a bad thing and really pushing yourself to the limits to be able to know what you can achieve is not a bad thing — whether you are starting out in your career or working your way up. Hard work is a reward.”