How were you involved in Formula Student?
I was the Business Development and Partnership Manager at Oxford Brookes Racing.
Tell us about your experience on the Student Schemes at Mercedes AMG HPP?
It was clear from the first day on placement that this was going to be a heavily involved and challenging role. I joined the AMG ONE Programme Management team and was tasked with coordinating the Turbo/MGUH and Integration hardware areas. The main goal was to ensure that turbos were built on time and to the correct specification. With the programme going through an intense period of development, that was significant levels of specification change that required careful management. The Integration aspects of the role involved close work with our chassis and trackside teams. This was to make sure that the cars had everything they needed to be assembled, depending on their use. It also involved a number of trips away from the factory, including some overseas travel.
I rejoined the same team as a graduate in June 2021. My experience on the graduate scheme was one of increased responsibility, and having re-joined the company with previous experience, I was well prepared for this. I was tasked with initially looking after the ICE as a complete unit, including Turbo/MGUH & MGUK. I was also responsible for bringing newer team members up to speed with the company and the programme. I was quickly given more responsibility and was trusted to deputize for my team leader. I suspect that this level of trust would be hard to replicate anywhere other than HPP. I was trained well, and my skills were constantly developed to be capable of covering a number of responsibilities.
After 5 months on the graduate scheme, a full time position was advertised for a Programme Coordinator, a role with increased responsibility, with more of a focus on the management side of programmes, as well as being on a different project. Despite being heavily involved with my current project, I was actively encouraged to apply, and supported in my application.
What have you learned so far during your time at Mercedes AMG HPP?
The early part of my placement was focused on learning the skills required to carry out the role – specification management, stakeholder management, communication, time-pressured decision making as well as business specific functional skills i.e. business systems, company working methods etc. During the course of my placement, I was constantly using and honing these skills to become a more efficient and effective team member. The business operated at an incredible pace, and adapting to working at this pace, whilst maintaining a microscopic level of attention detail, took some adjusting to. I spent significant amounts of time working with more experienced team members, with the aim of picking up some of their tactics and strategies, and seeing how they could be applied to my areas of work.
When on the graduate scheme, it was an opportunity to further develop those skills, but this time with an increased range of responsibility. With that additional responsibility came further opportunities – to pick up some project planning, budget management, and commercial skills. Being tasked with training the new members of the team also provided a chance to work on some more interpersonal skills. A combination of all of these skills prepared me well to take on a permanent role.
What have you enjoyed most from your time at Mercedes AMG HPP?
A highlight of my time at HPP has been seeing a project I’ve been tasked with managing, completed from start to finish. I was responsible for pulling together a timing plan for a fleet power unit upgrade for all of the AMG ONE Prototype cars – this required careful planning with key internal and external stakeholders, and absolute accuracy in terms of specification.
Additionally, being part of the Mercedes Vision EQXX programme was a real pleasure. The task was not a small one – create the most efficient car ever, capable of +1000km on a single charge. Managing this project from mid development through to project completion was a challenge I had not faced before but the team effort and the willingness to push for more, and to work for each other was remarkable. I remember the day of the record drive from Stuttgart to Cassis so clearly – watching all of our hard work pay off, and seeing the car cross the finish line to be met by Markus Schäfer, the CTO of Mercedes-Benz.
What would you say to anyone looking to apply to Mercedes AMG HPP’s student schemes?
Ask questions that you need to know the answers too. It can be common mistake to ask questions for the benefit of the interviewer rather than the interviewee. An interview is an opportunity for you to also work out if this is the right company for you, not just to see if you are the right candidate for the company.
Take pride in your work, and be confident that in every single piece of work you do at university, both on your course and as part of FS, that you really are happy to sign your name to it. Accountability is an incredibly important and valued attribute, and one that you will need to be successful at HPP.
Choose specific examples of thing you have done well in FS and how you achieved them, but also, things that did not go so well, and how you reacted to them and came up with a solution. Motorsport and Advanced Technology walk a fine line between success and failure, so it is crucial that your response to failure is a positive one – seeing it as a chance to learn and improve.
What advice would you give to this year’s Formula Student competitors?
Chase every single kilowatt, horsepower, efficiency gain, millisecond, penny and gram. The success of many of the most successful programmes has been in the finest of details and margins. Perfection is a difficult, and some would say impossible thing to achieve, but if you chase the smallest of gains, pay attention to the finest details, you can get pretty close.
Once again, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains are excited to be involved in this year's Formula Student event. If you are attending this year and would like to find out more about their Graduate or Placement opportunities for 2023, please visit the Mercedes Marquee to talk to someone from the team.