How do you break into Formula 1 before you’ve even finished university?
For many, the answer is industrial placements. Our programmes offer a clear pipeline - where passionate, talented young people can build the skills and knowledge they need to pursue graduate careers at extraordinary teams like Atlassian Williams Racing.
On an industrial placement, students get the chance to swap lectures for real-world delivery - and create the winning formula by shaping the car, the business, and the future of the team.
If you’re weighing up a Formula 1 placement year, here’s a deeper dive into how our placements work, where you can make an impact, and what current and past placement students have to say about the experience.
What is a Formula 1 industrial placement?
A Formula 1 industrial placement is a chance for university students to get hands-on experience in an F1 team. Our Formula 1 industrial placements run for around 13 months and are designed for students in their penultimate year of higher education. You’ll join a cohort, embed in a department, and take ownership of work that feeds straight into car performance or the business behind it.
F1 placement areas: Where you’ll make a difference
Our Formula 1 placements cover both engineering and non-engineering roles, including:
Aerodynamics industrial placements
Aerodynamics is a key driver of performance in F1. On an aero placement, you could be running CFD simulations, refining models, or supporting wind tunnel testing - whatever it takes to drive those small gains for next race weekend.
Fleur Vermeulen, Aerodynamics Industrial Placement explained:
“I’m doing this in between my university years, so it really gives you a lot of experience before graduating with a degree. It’s actually great, you can learn way more than just being in university. I think Williams is big on early careers, it’s quite family-oriented and that really attracted me. I thought it would be walking around and shadowing what people do, but immediately for the start you were encouraged to go for it and see what you can do.”
Read more: Roles and responsibilities of an aerodynamics engineer
Vehicle design, dynamics, and
systems
These F1 placements suit students who love solving problems and testing theories against reality. In vehicle design, you’ll take concepts from CAD to production release and ensure every part is spot on. Vehicle dynamics puts you closer to the driver, while systems engineering keeps everything from sensors to wiring looms running reliably under the unforgiving conditions of F1.
Joao Pedro Medina Erse, Systems Engineer Industrial Placement, has felt the benefits of starting out in a placement firsthand:
“Working at Williams as a placement has been a great learning experience! My team welcomed me and helped me adjust to the fast-paced industry. I’ve developed valuable skills as a data engineer and gained experience on the thrilling action of race weekends. It’s amazing to be around so many talented individuals constantly working together to improve the car.”
Assembly industrial placement
Assembly is where all the designs, calculations and simulations come to life.
As an assembly placement student, you’ll:
- Work alongside F1 technicians to build and prepare cars for track
- Contribute to sign-off, servicing and continuous improvements
- Participate in performance meetings and collaborate across departments
Heritage industrial placement
Our Heritage team keeps the storied history of Williams alive. Heritage placements focus on restoring and maintaining iconic Williams cars, some dating back nearly 50 years. From stiffness calculations and CAD drawings to authentic part reproduction, you’ll play a role in recommissioning the legendary cars that define our legacy.
This placement is especially rewarding if you’re passionate about the storytelling side of engineering. Supporting the Heritage team means contributing to historic events, sponsor activations, and inspiring the next generation of racing talent.
Much like every other department, Heritage is full of supportive and driven professionals who help our placements every step of the way, as Matthew Hoult, Aerodynamics Industrial Placement, explained:
“My experience on the Early Careers programme has been very effective at establishing a career in Formula 1. I’m treated like any other team member and am given all the help, responsibilities and support I need. Williams is such an exciting place to be right now, and I couldn’t have chosen a better starting point!”
What a Formula 1 placement year feels like
As an industrial placement, you’ll be part of a close-knit community made up of people who share your passion, vision, and ambition. Fleur Vermeulen said:
“Williams really appreciates having Early Careers students and actively wants more. They make sure that there’s always somebody to talk to and they organise all kinds of meetings with other IPs. James Vowles also comes to talk to us. He gives us speeches which show how he wants to help us to improve and that he is not just saying these things publicly.”
Explore our F1 industrial placements
Ready to rev up your career? If you’re keen to join a high-performance environment built on innovation, teamwork and accountability, we might have the placement for you. Take a look at our F1 industrial placements and Early Careers opportunities to find out more, or join our talent community to be the first to hear about our latest openings.
