Data engineer Ramon Drost tells students about his Formula 1 dream time
What is it like to work in Formula 1? And most of all, which road do you take to make this dream come true?
The well-known Dutch data-engineer Ramon Drost (and alumnus HAN Automotive Engineering) told about it on 21 June as a guest speaker at the symposium Powerhouse of Innovation of the HAN School of Engineering and Automotive. No less than 260 students from various technical studies and partners from their 36 assignments were present. A nice mix, followed by interesting presentations from the students.
Working in Formula 1
Back to Ramon. When he studied Automotive Engineering at the HAN in Arnhem, he worked for teams in the rally and Formula 4. Then he went to work as a data engineer at Ten Kate Racing in the World Superbike Championship. “I had a great time there, but it was always with one goal in mind: working in Formula 1,” Ramon says.
Renault Alpine Formula 1 team
“I then wrote one letter after another. Until I got an invitation at Renault Alpine Formula 1 team.” Renault gave Drost a place in the test team in 2017 as an electronics track support engineer. Promotion to the race team followed in 2019, where as trackside electronics engineer – also known as data engineer – he dealt with the data flow generated by a Formula One car. Electronics, software, hardware, sensors, you name it. In this role, he was responsible for the electronics on board the Formula 1 car of Esteban Ocon and before that Nico Hülkenberg.
During the final months of his tenure, he was only at the factory, helping the team prepare for the 2022 Formula One season. Although the Alpine Formula One team would have loved to keep him, Ramon has chosen to put an end to his time in the premier class of motor racing for the time being. The data engineer from Nieuwleusen has had enough of travelling for a while and also has other ambitions.
Ramon: “It was a complicated job. I simply made sure that everything worked as it should and played an important key role.” In an interview with Motorsport.com, he reveals why he is leaving the world of Formula 1. First and foremost, however, Drost is leaving Formula 1 because he is ready for a new challenge.
“I have always aspired to a career in Formula 1 and I still love that job, so to say goodbye to my dream job for now has been the hardest decision I have had to make so far,” says Ramon. “I always had another goal and that was to start my own business. Initially, I had the idea of starting up a company alongside my work in Formula 1, but I was on the road so much that it just couldn’t be combined. When the desire to be home more came along, I decided to take the plunge and start my own business. Thus, Raptor Pro Performance was born.”
Supporting racing activities
With this company Ramon will focus on supporting racing activities on the track. He will also use his knowledge and expertise to get more power out of street cars. “If all goes well, I hope to compete with AMG and Abt Sportsline,” he says, who will use Formula 1 technology, such as high-quality wiring harnesses, for tuning.” In terms of motorsport jobs, Ramon is aiming for racing classes such as WEC, Formula E and IMSA. A return to Formula 1 he explicitly does not exclude. “First I want to realise that other dream.”
Sustainability and system change
The symposium continued with an interesting lecture by Marijke Frielink, the second keynote. She is Sustainability Change Manager and talked about sustainability, system change and the road she has travelled.
Environmental reports that do not penetrate
The third speaker at the symposium was Jaap Tielbeke, editor at De Groene Amsterdammer and author of ‘A better environment does not start with yourself’. He took the students along on the subject of the ever more alarming environmental reports. Why don’t the (climate) warnings get through? And what can we do now?
Source and photography: HAN