Electric vehicles may be known for being quiet, but a day at a Formula E race is anything but. The track is alight with activity, from engineers making final hardware adjustments to racecars flying past at speeds nearing 200 mph.
For many in the automotive world, this electrifying atmosphere represents a lifelong goal of working in motorsports like Formula E. However, landing a position is incredibly competitive, and in a traditionally male-dominated space, it can be even more difficult for women to break through. Worldwide, female participation in motorsports is estimated at around 10%.
Cristina Mañas Fernández and Charlotte Henry, key members of the Nissan Formula E Team, are breaking the mould – and helping blaze a new path for women in motorsports. Amid a whirlwind weekend at the Portland E-Prix, Mañas Fernández and Henry shared their thoughts as they readied Nissan’s two GEN3 racecars for the track.
“I was one of 10 women in an engineering class of 100 at my university,” said Henry, a systems engineer.
At Nissan, however, they said things are different. With women serving as team manager [Francesca Valdani], communications manager and team coordinator – as well as colleagues like Mañas Fernández — Henry has always felt welcome.
“When I started with Nissan, it was easy. They didn’t care about my gender,” she said. “You just have to be passionate.”
Finding time with Mañas Fernández and Henry on a race day is no small feat – both are making last-minute modifications to the vehicles and ensuring every element is optimised for current conditions. In a sport where winners and losers are often separated by less than a tenth of a second, every detail counts.
Mañas Fernández, head of performance and simulation on the Nissan Formula E Team readied the GEN3 cars for the race and explained that these final preparations are one of the best parts of the job. Even during qualifying – the laps before the race which determine a driver’s position in the starting grid – the team will sometimes need to make tweaks to the vehicle.
“No matter how much preparation you do, there is always a degree of last-minute adjustment, which is fun,” Mañas Fernández said.
While Mañas Fernández is making these changes, she’s frequently working with Henry, who is monitoring the vehicle from the Nissan garage. Their radios are constantly chirping as the drivers take their final practice laps and the car is evaluated by investigators from the FIA (the organisation that oversees Formula E and Formula One).
“It’s quite a difficult and busy job,” Henry said. “It requires an amazing level of teamwork.”
Both women’s roles involve sorting through an enormous amount of data about the vehicle’s performance – from tyre temperature to suspension movement through corners. The challenge, Mañas Fernández says, is determining which data are useful. That’s especially difficult in the final minutes before the race, as the team works to prepare the car based on the track conditions and latest data from the vehicle.
“The faster you can plot data that are meaningful for us, the easier you can help decision-making on the track,” she said.
Mañas Fernández said Nissan Formula E Team members are dedicated to working cohesively and getting on the podium. Since joining Formula E in 2018, Nissan has secured a spot on the podium 46 times, including 19 victories.
“You don’t really think about whether you’re working with a woman or a man. They’re your colleague, and you get on with the job,” she said.
The women lauded Nissan’s placement of women in engineering roles, which is still rare in the motorsports world.
“You can see that we have more women in technical roles than other teams, which is good,” Fernández said. “If you’re a fit for the role, Nissan is open to giving you the opportunity.”
Once on the team, Nissan provides mentorship to newcomers – something that has become especially important as the team has grown.
“It’s crazy how much has changed in just one year. We have many new people, and we have worked so hard,” Henry said. “It’s the perfect marriage of organisation and passion.”
Mañas Fernández and Henry hope to inspire the next generation of female engineers to consider a career in motorsports. They said there are multiple paths to getting to the pit lane, but a few things can help increase one’s chances. A degree in engineering is generally a must, but more important, Mañas Fernández says, is the ability to work with data.
“I think that’s fundamental nowadays because you’re dealing with such a huge amount of it,” she said.
While the hunt for a motorsports job can be frustrating at times, Fernández encouraged people to not give up.
“Keep knocking on the doors. Some of them will be closed, but eventually, one will open,” she said. “Try to get some hands-on experience as well. I think at times, there’s a divergence between the theory and the hands-on experience. So, get a bit of both to give yourself the best opportunities.”
Season 10 just concluded on July 21, with Oliver Rowland placing first in the final race and the Nissan Formula E Team placing fourth overall for the season. The team is already looking to Season 11. The off-season, they say, can be even busier since the scale of change is much larger than it is between races. But above all, they remain excited to be part of Nissan’s greater, shared effort to win races and drive the sport forward.
“My favourite part of the job is getting to work with this team,” Henry shared.
A childhood trip to a Formula One testing session with her father was all it took to spark Francesca Valdani’s ambition to pursue a career in motorsports. It was this early fascination that triggered a fifteen-year spell across the motorsport landscape, with her impressive career eventually leading her to Team Nissan and the prestigious world of Formula E.
During this formative experience that shaped her motorsport aspirations, it wasn’t just the thrilling action on the circuit that drew her interest, but also the close teamwork and communication in the pit lanes.
“I was fascinated by how the motorsport teams worked together. The teams had many individuals performing very different roles, but they all had to work harmoniously together to make sure their car crossed the chequered flag first,” said Valdani.
Based on her own experiences, what does Francesca Valdani recommend to women and girls looking to follow in her footsteps?
“Do not be afraid – never fear of doors being closed, as there will be a day when the right one will open for you!” She also stresses the key traits crucial to forging a successful career in motorsport: “Dedication, strength and competence are key to not only earning respect in the sector, but also success”.
Photographs by Nissan Motor Corporation.