Giving the next generation the chance to become track designers of the future
What is Girls on Track?
Girls on Track is a joint initiative between the FIA and Motorsport UK that runs events throughout the year for girls aged 8-14, introducing them to the wide range of careers in motorsport. This event was hosted for family members of the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, with a focus on STEM.
We recently hosted a race track design challenge as part of a recent Girls on Track event at the Mercedes-AMG F1 team factory.
A new challenge: designing a race track
Our involvement opened up a new avenue for Girls on Track, one that hadn’t featured at their events before: race track design. Working in small groups, the girls were given a proper design brief and asked to plan a track around real-world constraints – water, trees and a fixed land boundary.
The results were brilliant. The variety of ideas and the creativity on show gave us a real insight into how similar the girls’ decision-making was to the choices our own teams make on projects, every day.
It was so rewarding seeing the younger generation taking part in our race track design challenge. Seeing the girls coming up with different solutions within the same parameters was inspiring, and passing on what we know to the younger generations is exactly why we say yes to events like this.”
Ben Willshire
Partner, Motorsport track design
More than track design
Track design was only one part of the day. The girls also took on a pit stop tyre-changing challenge, coded with Sphero robots, learned about presenting and broadcasting, and had a full Mercedes factory tour.
A success story of our own
A former participant of the Girls on Track programme now works full-time at Ridge. Rebecca Ivory was an aspiring writer with a passion for motorsport, and after joining a Girls on Track webinar hosted by our Motorsport Track Design team in 2025, she got in touch about possible opportunities at Ridge. We interviewed her – and she’s now part of our team.
Having attended a webinar on motorsport track design hosted by Girls on Track with Driven International, I became increasingly interested in the wide array of projects this kind of work encompasses and the fact that every track comes with its own unique demands. That interest helped me to land my new role as a Project Associate at Ridge, where I now support the delivery of projects across the motorsport industry. I absolutely love what I do.”
Rebecca Ivory
Motorsport Project Associate
Why we do it
We love getting involved in initiatives like Girls on Track. Motorsport has historically been very male dominated, and Girls on Track not only inspires girls from a young age to see that careers in the industry are viable, but also opens up connections within it.
We also enjoy sharing our passion for track design with others, especially young people, to show that careers are possible and achievable in a relatively niche area of motorsport.
Lets talk
If you are interested in getting involved with our Motorsport track design team, contact Ben Willshire.
