In this episode of Give Wellbeing a Sporting Chance, we spoke to Isla Mackenzie, brought up on a dairy farm on the Isle of Lewis and now an engineer in Formula One.
Isla shares her experience of growing up on the island farm and her journey to where she is now. From quad bikes to racing cars, the ups and downs and some of the challenges she has faced along the way.
She secured her first job in Formula 1 with Williams in 2017 and worked in their Research & Development department, testing and developing the cars and their individual components.
She then moved to Mercedes High Performance Powertrains where she tested and developed the Formula 1 power units before moving to the main Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 team in Brackley, Northamptonshire, where she now works perfecting parts for the cars that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell drive at Grand Prix races around the world.
Last year Isla’s dream to be a professional racing driver was followed in a BBC documentary called Fast Track to Glory, which showed her moving through the ranks from karts to single seaters with IMC Motorsports.
There have been - and continue to be - plenty of barriers along the way and 30-year-old Isla is convinced the seeds of her drive to succeed were sown back at home on the farm.
