Formula One has announced a scholarship, apprenticeship and internship programme for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
F1 is aiming to increase diversity and inclusion in the sport. Last year the championship announced it would actively work to create education and employment opportunities for people from underrepresented groups, with former F1 boss Chase Carey donating $1 million to the cause.
The three programmes will be:
-Engineering scholarship: 10 students from six universities in Britain and Italy. The scholarship will cover the full cost of their tuition.
-Appreniceship programme: Two long-term apprenticeships for people from underrepresented backgrounds, with a focus on mechanical engineering.
-Internship programme: Six inters from underrepresented backgrounds with a mix of short- and long-term placements.
The apprenticeship and internship programmes will involve people working within F1 immediately and have been created to lead to full-time jobs in F1 once the programmes have concluded.
Wednesday’s announcement comes a day after Lewis Hamilton’s Hamilton Commission published its findings after ten months of research into the racing industry. The Commission, which was unrelated to F1’s drive for education and employment opportunities, launched with the aim of understanding why a relatively small amount of Black students pursue careers in motorsport.
The Hamilton Commission laid out a series of recommendations, which included asking F1 teams and other motorsport business to broaden access to motorsport by expanding apprenticeship opportunities.