Behind every successful Formula 1 team is a commercial strategy built around understanding where opportunities lie, what creates value and where to focus for future growth. From analysing audiences and market trends to assessing new commercial opportunities, strategy teams help turn insight into decisions that support the wider business.
At Atlassian Williams F1 Team, commercial strategy careers give people the chance to help shape that direction. These roles help shape the future of the team, make real impact through smart, insight-led decision-making, and give ambitious people the chance to find their place in one of the most iconic names in Formula 1.
If you’re exploring F1 commercial strategy jobs, here’s what the work looks like from the inside.
What do F1 commercial jobs involve?
F1 commercial jobs cover a wide range of areas, from commercial strategy and partnerships to licensing, merchandise and marketing. The roles can look very different, but they’re all driven by the same long-term ambition of helping return Williams to the front of the grid.
Some roles help bring new partners in while others grow the brand through licensed products or turn data into clear commercial decisions. For Jai Malone, Commercial Strategy Manager, the role sits across several important areas:
“I’m the Commercial Strategy Manager in the Commercial and Marketing team. In my job, we cover four main pillars, which are our go-to-market strategy for Williams as partners, managing our sponsorship inventory, managing our pricing strategy, and then we also cover all of the reporting and business insights elements of the commercial team.”
How does Formula 1 commercial strategy create value?
Formula 1 has a huge global platform, with a fanbase that continues to grow and become younger and more diverse. For Williams, that creates opportunities to connect with fans and partners in ways that feel exciting and true to the team.
Commercial strategy is how those opportunities become action. It could mean shaping a stronger partner proposition, using fan data more effectively, or finding a better way to measure commercial performance.
Jai explains that one of the most important parts of his role is making data useful:
“You need to be able to understand and communicate data insights. The main goal of our team is being able to communicate the insights we get from data. There’s no point having all these systems and reports if you can’t use them. The main function and goal is turning those insights into something actionable and easy to understand.”
That’s where innovation becomes practical. It starts with seeking information, asking better questions and challenging assumptions. From there, the skill is turning insight into something people can actually use.
Jai has seen the impact of that approach in his own work:
“One thing I’ve delivered that’s made a real difference is bringing some of the learnings I gained from how other departments use data into the commercial team. By bringing in the data infrastructure and reporting into the team, we’ve been able to become more efficient in the way we outreach to brands.”
Read more: How commercial and brand teams make real impact.
What skills help you succeed in F1 commercial strategy careers?
Commercial jobs in F1 suit people who can think clearly and communicate well under pressure. Life in Formula 1 moves quickly, and priorities can change fast. That means resilience is essential.
As Jai puts it:
“Being pragmatic helps in this role. There’s a lot of high-pressure situations and it’s about keeping a level head in those situations in order to communicate effectively.”
Teamwork is just as important. Commercial roles often bring together sales, partnerships, marketing, legal, finance, retail, procurement and brand teams. The best outcomes happen when people work with purpose, and keep information flowing.
Jai’s experience on the graduate scheme helped him understand that first-hand:
“Making internal moves through the business has given me a holistic view of the organisation. I was in operations, car planning, finance and then into commercial on my graduate scheme. You understand the different departmental perspectives and understand why people are asking for certain information.”
How can graduates find their place in F1 commercial jobs?
Not every commercial career in F1 begins with lifelong fandom. Jai studied maths and statistics at university, which gave him a strong foundation for working with data and commercial decision-making. His route shows that transferable skills can open the door, even if your background is not directly in motorsport.
For Jai, our Graduate Scheme offered the chance to learn the business from different angles:
“The flexibility of the scheme is what attracted me to the graduate opportunity at Williams. I actually wasn’t an F1 fan before joining. The scheme is built up of four six-month rotations in different departments around the business, so just having that flexibility of not having to know what you want to do straight away was helpful.”
Jai’s advice for applying for a graduate role is simple:
“I think what helped make my application stand out was just being myself throughout it. I wasn't trying to be something that I wasn’t. I don’t think there’s any secret sauce to success. If you’ve got the right qualifications and you fit in from a cultural perspective, it will all come together.”
Why choose commercial jobs at Atlassian Williams F1 Team?
Williams has a proud history and a long-term mission to return to the front of the grid. The heritage drives us, but the focus is firmly on what comes next.
The output of our commercial team helps to fuel that ambition. For Jai, one of his favourite moments came when Atlassian joined as title partner:
“My favourite moment in the job is definitely when we signed the partnership with Atlassian as our title partner, because of all the hard work that had gone into it in the previous year.”
Work like that shows the scale of commercial impact here. It can influence how partners understand Williams, how fans connect with the brand and how internal departments come together around shared goals.
It’s also a place where development is taken seriously. Jai has grown through different parts of the business and has been supported with opportunities, including a mini MBA.
“Williams has given me lots of development opportunities, most recently being the mini MBA. Williams has supported me in my development around brand management and getting that 360 approach to marketing.”
That culture of development links closely to excellence. People are trusted to keep improving and raising the bar. They’re also expected to own their work, move things forward and stay accountable for the outcome.
For Jai, the people are what make Williams stand out as a great place to work:
“My time at Williams has been an amazing journey. I like working here because you get to work with really smart individuals that are aligned on one goal. It’s the people you get to work with that make it special.”
And his message for anyone thinking about joining is clear:
“Williams is the team to follow as it’s going to be the greatest comeback in sports. I won’t say too much, but watch this space!”
Ready to explore F1 commercial jobs?
If you’re interested in sport, strategy, data, partnerships, licensing or brand growth, commercial jobs in F1 could be a brilliant way to build your career. At Atlassian Williams F1 Team, you can help create value beyond the grid while playing your part in a team moving with purpose.
Explore our latest commercial jobs today or join our talent community to stay up to date.
