How Do You Actually Get a Job in F1? (2026 Guide)

How to Get a Job in Formula One in 2026 — Every Role, Every Salary, Explained How do you get a job in Formula One? There isn't one single path in 2026 — the F1 paddock employs roughly 2,500 people every race weekend, rising to over 3,000 at marshal-heavy events like the Singapore Grand Prix. That number spans four core groups: the 11 F1 teams plus Pirelli, the FIA (race control and scrutineering), FOM (commercial and broadcast operations), and the accredited media pack of over 100 photographers, journalists, and broadcasters. Entry-level day-hire roles can pay as little as €100 a day, while senior team principal roles reach into the tens of millions of dollars a year. This episode is the first in a new Motion Report series mapping every job in the F1 paddock — what each role actually pays in 2026, what qualifications it requires, and how someone actually gets hired, based on reporting from inside the paddock at every Grand Prix weekend. This is the map. The full picture. From the floor of the pyramid to the very top. Using Cadillac F1 as our real-world case study all season. ⏱️ 00:00 – The question everyone asks: how do you get a job in F1? ⏱️ 00:16 – The scale: 2,500 people trackside, 11 teams, Pirelli, FIA, FOM, media ⏱️ 00:45 – Entry level: some roles pay as little as €100 a day ⏱️ 01:23 – Why Cadillac is the perfect case study: built from absolute zero ⏱️ 02:57 – Why we are using Cadillac: hired from scratch under the cost cap in real time ⏱️ 04:10 – The floor: hospitality staff, garage technicians, race mechanics — real numbers ⏱️ 04:51 – The Callum Nicholas story: mechanic to content creator to ambassador ⏱️ 05:11 – The middle: race engineers, strategists, data analysts — what they earn ⏱️ 05:39 – Data and software: the layer that barely existed a decade ago ⏱️ 06:37 – The team outside the garage: content, PR, commercial, partnerships ⏱️ 07:46 – The top: team principals from $1M to $17M, drivers from $1M to $75M ⏱️ 08:40 – Cadillac's unusual structure: Andretti, Lowden, Heinz and Zhou connection ⏱️ 09:20 – What comes next in this series: every role broken down one by one Key talking points: ✅ 2,500 people trackside at every GP — 11 teams alone employ 1,100-1,200 ✅ Entry level: as low as €100 per day for some day-hire garage roles ✅ Hospitality and catering: $30-35 per hour, outside cost cap entirely ✅ Race mechanics: $45,000-$95,000, number one mechanic pushing $110,000 ✅ Race engineers: $115,000-$165,000+ at top teams ✅ Mercedes software engineers: averaging $149,000, seniors over $200,000 ✅ Team principals: $1M to $17M — Wolff holds ownership stake ✅ Drivers: rookies $1-2M, mid-grid $5-15M, very best $50-75M ✅ Perez estimated $8M, Bottas estimated $5M at Cadillac ✅ Cadillac case study: built entire structure from zero, still hiring mid-season ✅ Paul Monaghan poached from Red Bull after two decades — mid-season ✅ Lowden and Heinz previously managed Zhou Guanyu — now his bosses ✅ Content and PR roles barely existed a decade ago — built around F1's global reach ✅ Cost cap: $215M applies equally to Cadillac — makes their hiring uniquely transparent Which F1 job do you want us to break down first? 👍 Like if you want to work in Formula One someday 🔔 Subscribe — this series has a long way to go, every role broken down one by one 💬 Which job do you want us to cover first? Drop it in the comments below #F1 #F1Careers #HowToGetAJobInF1 #Cadillac #Formula1 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🔔 Subscribe for More: *For deeper race reports and paddock analysis: https://themotionreport.com/