Access, Visibility Key To Unlocking Asia's Motorsport Talent, Says Motorsport Engineer
From Siti Radziah Hamzah
SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Asia has no shortage of technically capable talent for Formula One (F1) and the wider motorsport industry, but access and the lack of clear career pathways remain key barriers for aspiring professionals in the region, said motorsport engineer Nida Anis.
Nida said greater awareness is needed to show Asian talent that motorsport offers viable careers, particularly in engineering and other technical fields.
“I think access is the main issue. There are a lot of races in Asia, but many local events stay under the hood. They are not noticed, and they are not publicised enough,” she told Bernama in a recent interview.
Nida was in Singapore recently for a talk on the technical and engineering aspects of motorsport.
The 21-year-old British-Thai engineer has more than three years of experience as a freelance motorsport engineer and technical coordinator across sportscar, endurance and single-seater racing.
She has worked with race- and championship-winning teams in series including GT World Challenge Asia, Super Taikyu, SRO Japan Cup, Thailand Super Series and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, as well as the Macau Grand Prix, FIA Formula Regional, FIA Formula 4 and GB4.
Nida also co-founded Asian Motorsport, a digital media and news platform dedicated to the racing scene across Asia, to spotlight Asian drivers and teams that often receive limited coverage in mainstream motorsport media.
Although she is no longer actively involved with the platform, Nida noted that many Asian motor racing events tend to go under the radar and are not publicised enough.
“There needs to be more awareness and more attention about the motorsport scene in Asia, just because it’s fantastic, and I really do think that it deserves more visibility,” stressed Nida.
Alongside her professional motorsport work, Nida is pursuing a Master of Engineering in Motorsport Engineering and is currently in the third year of a five-year programme at Oxford Brookes University, which includes a professional placement year.
Nida said the industry should also give greater visibility to Asians already working in it and give younger generations role models and a clearer picture of possible career pathways.
She said motorsport is not always regarded as an obvious career choice among traditional Asian families despite the emphasis many place on professions such as engineering, medicine and law.
“You say to your mom, ‘Hey, I want to work in motorsport’. Your mom goes, ‘What’s motorsport?’ It is not known or obvious that it is a really strong career path,” she added.
Nida said universities could play a bigger role by offering programmes that expose students to motorsport and help them develop relevant technical experience.
However, she said capability alone does not guarantee access to international motorsport, with aspiring professionals also facing financial, immigration and employment barriers.
For those from countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, she said visas and the right to work in major motorsport markets could present additional challenges.
In Malaysia, Nida said access remained a significant factor, alongside the financial cost of obtaining the education needed to pursue such careers.
“Financially, there’s the cost of sending someone to university. And there needs to be a clearer pathway and more support, especially for students who are from less financially wealthy backgrounds,” she said.
Nida said she experienced financial constraints herself while growing up and could not initially afford to attend university.
She said her father is deaf and blind, and her family did not have much money, which contributed to her decision to take a gap year.
Nida, who had a student loan in England, said she is now financially independent and largely self-funded as she pursues her studies and career.
She said initiatives that widen access matter in an industry that has traditionally been difficult to enter, citing Driven By Us, a community organisation seeking to empower under-represented talent in the automotive and motorsport sectors.
Nida said such organisations encourage people from more diverse backgrounds to consider careers in motorsport.
Meanwhile, she said the motorsport industry has also become more inclusive towards women over the past three years, although it has traditionally been viewed as a male-dominated industry.
Nida recalled attending a motorsport event early in her career where she was the only woman in the paddock.
“At one test day early on in my career, I remember looking around and not being able to see another woman or anyone who looked like me, and during those early events, it was very easy to count the number of women in the paddock on one hand.
“It was not something that I was thinking about all the time, but it was always in the back of my mind,” she said.
Nida added that especially in those early months, she had to face many people saying that she could not do what she was doing.
“Talking me down, and in one case directly sending me text messages to make me feel as though I did not belong and that there was no place for me in the paddock. Receiving those messages hurt, but I’m glad I kept going and proved them wrong,” she said.
Nida said the situation has since improved, with more women now visible across different areas of motorsport and greater tolerance, respect, and acceptance within the industry.
She noted initiatives such as F1 Academy as among those providing greater visibility for women and helping them see potential futures in the industry.
“Now, I go to paddocks and see multiple female engineers and female mechanics. It is great because you just feel so much more supported, and that is so important," she said.
Nida said the opportunities for women extend beyond becoming racing drivers, with engineering and other technical disciplines providing pathways into F1 and the broader motorsport industry.
She said increasing the visibility of those opportunities is important to encourage more young people, particularly women, to consider motorsport as a viable career.
-- BERNAMA