Motorsport Jobs: How students can make a difference in teams
British Formula 4 team owner Joe Sharp says students wanting a motorsport career should not be afraid or suggesting ideas or asking questions, as it can help outfits overcome problems

Sharp Motorsport race in the British F4 Championship, running a one-car outfit for Jamie Sharp, competing alongside larger and more established teams.
The British F4 Championship has become the perfect platform for students to learn their trade in an competitive environment.
Sharp explains what he is looking for from an employee.
"The advice I would give is to offer something different, come up with an attractive package," said Sharp.
"We get so many enquiring but they are all the same.
"There are so many people that want to get into motorsport, so re-invent yourselves be prepared to work hard, most of the time for free.
"Don't ask silly questions, take it all in and use your initiative, show us what you can do.
"Don't just wait to be told what to do, don't be scared of asking questions, but also don't be scared of offering ideas, sometimes problems are clouded by overthinking and a new young fresh set of eyes can come up with a solution."

Sharp Motorsport's involvement with universities, including the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and Silverstone University Technical College has grown in recent years.
"We work with UCLAN quite a bit, mainly on advice and ideas, we want to push this more as they are local to us," said Sharp.
"We believe that the future is young talent in every department, so it needs to be encouraged to show us what they can achieve in the right environment and also under pressure in the field, or workshops.
"We have worked with Silverstone University on a few occasions last year with a couple of work experience (students)."
Racing with a limited budget has stretched the team but Sharp believes a unity within the team has helped it perform.
"Our biggest challenge is the off season, as most teams will sometimes lay their staff off in the winter months.
"We keep our guys on, which is difficult to fund when little income comes in."
Sharp adds: "I'm a great believer that you look after your team, and keep the best.
"Otherwise you have to start again every year with different people and it's difficult to build a working relationship up before the start of the season."

Farewell to touring car racing's greatest team boss
Pit Stop Betting becomes exclusive partner with British Superbikes

Latest news
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...