Susie Wolff, A Driving Force for Sustainability & Diversity, Team Principal ROKiT Venturi Racing

The Future Car: A Siemens Podcast

If you grew up around the smell of gasoline and spent your childhood with the roar of engines in the background, it would seem obvious that you might dream about a career in racing. But for young girls, it wasn’t always an easy path. It would take a strong and unbreakable sense of determination to keep the dream alive.

In this episode of the Women Driving the Future series, Ed Bernardon interviews Susie Wolff, Team Principal for ROKiT Venturi Racing. A racing phenom since the age of 8, she earned her place in racing history as the first female driver in 22 years to participate at Formula One Race Weekend at the 2014 British Grand Prix.

Since retiring in 2015, she has successfully directed her focus towards programs like Girls on Track and Dare to Be Different to encourage more young women to consider careers in the industry. Currently, she serves as Team Principal for ROKiT Venturi Racing.

Today, we’ll talk about her early racing aspirations, her history-making life on the track, and how she’s paying it forward for young women everywhere. We’ll also learn about the diverse team she’s building at Venturi, and the ways in which the racing world is adapting in the global push towards sustainability.

Some Questions I Ask:

• What is it about Scotland that so many great race drivers come from there? (8:49)
• How did you get that first sponsor you needed to make sure you could keep your career going? (12:02)
• What was the biggest surprise you learned from driving a Formula One car that the simulator didn't teach you? (20:19)
• How do you see the role of racing with this shift towards a more sustainable world of transportation? (35:01)
• What do you think about autonomous car racing? (39:27)

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• How Susie’s mother influenced her “can-do” attitude (4:24)
• The significance of the pink car she drove for Mercedes Benz (14:38)
• The job of a Team Principal (22:23)
• How her personal quest for diversity has shaped her team at Venturi (26:06)
• Why she was initially cynical about converting to an electric car (36:32)
• What she does for fun when she’s not working (48:42)

Connect With Susie Wolff:

• Twitter
• Instagram

Connect with Ed Bernardon:

• LinkedIn
• Future Car: Driving a Lifestyle Revolution
• Motorsports is speeding the way to safer urban mobility
• Siemens Digital Industries Software

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.