Hello, everyone! I’m so excited to announce that my first post for an outside blog has just been published. I’m thrilled that it was with Females In Motorsport because I’m a massive fan of theirs. I think that their mission to highlight the voices of women in motorsport is vital, and without their blog, I wouldn’t have had the courage to start my own. So a huge thank you to Helena and the rest of the Females In Motorsport team. I wrote about three women that inspire me in F1 for their blog, and I’ll be posting them separately on here. To view the full post on their website, click here. Without further ado, meet Ruth Buscombe!

“F1 drivers don’t care if a woman or a chipmunk calls the shots.” — Ruth Buscombe

As the senior race strategist at the Alfa Romeo Racing F1 team and an ambassador for FIA Girls on Track UK, Ruth is an inspiration to many.

Ruth was a bright and academic student at school and decided to enrol at the University of Cambridge. Cambridge is one of the top ten universities worldwide, which made this an incredible achievement for Ruth.

She was advised by her teachers not to pursue engineering but insisted upon it. Ruth graduated with a first-class degree in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering. Her university thesis was about the effects of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) in Formula One.

Ruth soon started work as a simulations development engineer for Ferrari at their Maranello factory. Two years later, she began a new job with the team, becoming a race engineer instead. After three years of working at Ferrari, Ruth decided to make a move to Haas F1. While at Haas, she was a trackside race strategist. She kept that job for under a year before moving to her current position at Alfa Romeo.

She is a firm believer that women should be included and given opportunities in the field of motorsport. Ruth’s focus on her work and drive to succeed is admirable, and why she deserves to be on this list.

In an interview with the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, she said: “It’s so important that we fight the archaic stereotype that women and motorsport don’t go together to prevent misinformation and dogma prescribing a subset of career choices for girls. I’m proud to be a part of an initiative that will showcase the fantastic opportunities available within motorsport; where what counts is what you can do – not what gender you are.”

I got to chat to Ruth in the comments;

Originally published on: April 6 2020

Cover Image Credit: F1