JAMES DORNOR

Having started out his career in the automotive industry, James Dornor soon moved into GT sports car racing and then Formula One. A trailblazer for change, earlier this year he left motorsport to set up the non-profit organisation Driven By Us with the aim of empowering and supporting ethnic minorities. 

I started watching Formula One from a very young age. I remember setting the VHS to record races in places like Australia and Japan to watch when I woke up. I liked the adrenaline of the racing and especially the pitstops where teams worked at lightning speeds to get the cars back on the track. As I got older, my fascination for how cars worked and the mechanics behind them grew. I enjoyed being practical, and engineering seemed an obvious career choice. However, getting there was not easy as no family member had knowledge of what engineering entailed. 

I’ve always thought that if you believe in something and persevere at it you can definitely achieve it; nothing is impossible. I struggled with maths and English at school and had to re-sit my GCSEs in those two subjects at college. While I didn’t initially have the grades for the degree I wanted to do at Coventry University – BEng (Hons) automotive engineering – I found an alternative route to achieve my ambitions by firstly completing a foundation degree.

While I believe you should never give up on your dreams, I’ve learned that sometimes you have to take opportunities presented to you even if it means going down a different path for a while. I wanted to work in F1 and remained determined to reach that goal but my path firstly took me down an automotive route. I was at BMW for my industrial placement year and then following graduation in 2011 an opportunity arose at McLaren Automotive working as a software test engineer. In late 2012, I transitioned from road cars to GT sports cars when I took a role as GT3 customer support engineer – trackside and lead development engineer for the GT Sprint and GT4 race car at McLaren GT. 

Five years later I broke into F1, firstly as trackside systems engineer for Kevin Magnussen at Haas F1, then as a systems support engineer at McLaren Racing based at the factory and, most recently, as an electronics support engineer at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the Heritage Department, managing all of the on-car/off-car electronics driven by the likes of Sir Lewis Hamilton MBE.

It takes a lot of self-belief and determination to follow your goals and I’ve learned that you mustn’t let anyone put you off by telling you what you can and cannot do. When I was working in the automotive sector I was told by colleagues that you cannot simply move over to F1. Also, in terms of diversity and inclusion, I was told back in 2011 that people like me don’t work in F1. This wasn’t that many years ago either, but hopefully times are changing. 

I think having visible and relatable role models to inspire young people to follow a certain career path is very important. While I never had that growing up, I’m very passionate about being that role model to young people today. I’ve been a STEM Ambassador since I started my career, going into schools, colleges and universities in my free time to give talks and share my journey. I hope that I can inspire a young person to achieve their dreams and help them believe any career is possible, regardless of background, ethnicity or gender.

One of my favourite quotes is by Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world”. I am determined to bring action and change to the automotive and motorsport industry and so, earlier in 2023, I left my role to set up Driven By Us, a non-profit organisation and Motorsport UK-approved club focusing on delivering STEM and media programmes for young people in deprived areas who don’t necessarily have access to the motorsport industry, as well as providing a supportive network and a safe space for ethnic minorities working in the industry. 

While I really enjoyed my time at Mercedes and the work I was doing in F1, I knew I’d be able to better support and empower the community by stepping out of the industry. In July 2023, our efforts were recognised when we received the Points of Light Award from the Prime Minister. While it is awarded to individuals who are making a change in their community, I see this as a collective effort and later this year I will be taking our team to Downing Street to spend some time speaking to the PM.

Something I have learned more recently in my career is the importance of having a career coach or life coach. In a professional capacity, I think it’s important to have someone to support you, a mentor and advocate for you. To anyone I’ve mentored I always say, believe in yourself, work hard and you’ll make your dreams a reality, even if it takes time to get there.