Accurate planning, forecasting, and recording of spending are fundamental to the success of any business. In the current Formula 1 Cost Cap environment, this becomes even more critical. Effectively managing and allocating funds in a prudent and timely manner can significantly differentiate a team’s competitiveness. It requires meticulous financial management to ensure that resources are used efficiently while adhering to regulatory constraints. This strategic financial discipline is essential for navigating the complexities of modern motorsport and maintaining a competitive edge in Formula 1.

The modern world is filled with technology and an expectation that “it just works”. HPP’s IT systems span from basic telephony to supercomputers, each requiring stringent practices to safeguard intellectual property and deliver efficient technology solutions. This encompasses robust cybersecurity measures, efficient infrastructure management, and reliable support services to ensure all technology within HPP operates smoothly and securely. These efforts not only protect valuable intellectual assets but also contribute to the overall efficiency and competitiveness of the organization in a technologically driven environment.

The Human Resources department at HPP plays a pivotal role in a wide range of activities aimed at attracting, hiring, training, developing, rewarding, and managing the very best talent. Beyond these responsibilities, HR also contributes to shaping and supporting an organisational culture that aligns with the business’s needs. This involves fostering an environment where employees can thrive, promoting collaboration and innovation, and ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the skills and resources necessary to achieve strategic goals. By focusing on both individual and organisational needs, HR plays a crucial role in driving HPP’s success and maintaining an inclusive, positive and productive workplace culture.

The Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Team at HPP goes beyond mere legal compliance. Their primary goal is to guide the business towards adopting a best practice approach to health, safety, and environmental management in a pragmatic manner. This involves not only meeting regulatory requirements but also proactively identifying and mitigating risks, promoting a culture of safety and environmental responsibility throughout the organization. By integrating best practices into daily operations, the HSE Team helps safeguard employees, protect the environment, and enhance operational efficiency, thereby contributing to the overall success and sustainability of HPP.

The Purchasing Team at HPP plays a critical role in supporting make vs buy decisions. When the decision is made to collaborate with an external partner, their responsibility extends to selecting the most suitable partners and effectively managing these relationships. This involves ensuring that partnerships are mutually rewarding, commercially viable, and contribute to the overall success of the projects. Key objectives include ensuring that all deliveries are punctual, complete, and error-free, thereby maintaining seamless operations and meeting the high standards required by HPP.

At HPP, fostering staff success involves prioritising their well-being. The Pitstop Restaurant offers a wide selection of nutritious and delicious meals, ensuring employees have access to healthy food options. Furthermore, the on-site gym is fully equipped and provides opportunities for staff to engage in fitness activities, supported by dedicated instructors who offer guidance and assistance on all aspects of well-being. These amenities enhance physical health and contribute to a positive work environment, enabling employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reach their fitness goals.

Please share an overview of what you do in your day-to-day role:
I’m the Investments Controller at HPP, which includes managing budgets for our capital expenditure, helping to approve new projects and reporting in both a statutory accounts and F1 cost cap world.

On a day to day, this means business partnering with the various projects, departments and stakeholders who require investments to help track how their projects are progressing while always keeping our eye’s out for cost reductions along the way. Financial controlling is both finding cost efficiencies to reduce spend and finding process improvements to increase the information available for better decision making on resource allocations.

I also have a role in HPP’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee, where I work with the Diversity & Inclusion Manager and the rest of the SteerCo to support HPP to achieve its D,E&I ambitions.

How does your role/team support HPP to achieve its goals?
As a research and development company, we have a finite budget to control which the Finance Team helps manage to get the most bang for our buck. This is usually achieved by balancing the short-term needs of projects with strategic planning for the longer-term investments. We also have the cost cap regulations to consider in all our decisions. This has required a ground-up rethink of our processes, which has proven to be complex yet fascinating.

Please could you give us a brief overview of your career path At HPP:
The first step was studying Accounting and Finance at Warwick Business School. During my studies, I did an internship in Finance and Business Support in the National Trust and an industrial placement year in F1 Management Accounting at Merecedes AMG HPP.
After university, I was offered a graduate job to rejoin HPP in our Advanced Technology Finance Team, working on the AMG One project for two years where I was balancing the books for AMG One alongside studying to become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant. After becoming the AMG One Financial Controller and supporting the project move from development to the final stages of production, I’ve recently adopted the role of Investments Controller.

What has been the highlight of your career so far:
AMG One is the first production project of its scale HPP have taken on, so getting involved in the project in its development stages and adapting our forecasting methodology to allow us to track costs of individual product sales, understanding the financial implications of the manufacturing learning curves and tracking the overconsumption of passing off each power unit all came with unique challenges. Bringing the project to fruition has provided significant opportunities for personal development and given me a greater appreciation for teamwork and perseverance.

Whats the most challenging aspect of your role?
Ensuring stakeholders value the involvement of finance in the early stages of projects. As a finance function, we rely heavily on the technical expertise and knowledge from our engineers and support functions to bring in-depth understanding of where the budget is best placed. Therefore, it’s important to manage these relationships and make sure we’re providing quality information to help decision-making throughout the business, all with the aim of shifting finance from a reactive to proactive business function.

What tips would you give someone who wants a career/role in your team?
Be adaptable, working in F1 is nothing if not unpredictable which means you need to thrive in a fast-paced environment and be prepared to juggle multiple challenges all at once.

Both F1 and finance thrive under continuous improvement, so having a questioning mindset which helps you to seek opportunities for increasing efficiency and automation will help you a long way!

Please share an overview of what you do in your day-to-day role?
My day-to-day role is varied – no two days are the same at HPP, which is part of why it’s so fun! Generally, my primary responsibilities are on cost control and process optimisation whilst supporting other departments. With regards to cost controlling, I help to monitor and manage budgets of different areas at the factory, especially our manufacturing and transport areas. Additionally, I support the release of orders for various programmes, ensuring a consistent supply of materials and resources for our current and future generation projects.

During my first 12 months as a Graduate, my role has also developed to include a significant amount of work on the 2026 power unit Financial Regulations. Cost cap is now at the forefront of Finance and has opened new opportunities for cooperation within the business, leading to improvements in the visibility of information and the level of automation across HPP.

Beyond my financial responsibilities, I am also a Health and Safety Rep. This entails auditing different departments and feeding back any concerns to the health and safety department. Being able to explore all areas of the site has been fascinating, especially some of the underground cooling areas!

How does your role/team support HPP to achieve its goals?
The introduction of cost cap has transformed the role Finance plays at HPP. We are more closely ingrained with other departments than ever before and now play a more influential role in key decisions. Our Finance Team is responsible for delivering essential information to key stakeholders. We ensure each department is spending optimally and no resources are wasted within a cost cap world, whilst ensuring compliance with Mercedes Group policies and completing our yearly Statutory Accounts. With regards to my role, I provide departments at the factory with up-to-date financial information on both their budgetary and cost cap position, along with forecasts of current and future year spends.

Please could you give us a brief overview of your career path At HPP
Since leaving school in 2018, I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of sectors, but having loved Formula 1 since a young age I had always hoped to find a career in it. I studied Economics at the University of Leeds with the view to working in motorsport in the future. My HPP career ignited (pardon the pun) with an F1 management accounting placement at HPP. The placement was a great 13 months, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to come back as a graduate student. As a grad, I am currently working towards my Chartered Accountancy qualification with the ICAEW and am grateful to the support that HPP has provided so far. Through these experiences, I have built a strong foundation in finance, operations, and strategic cost management, positioning me to help power Mercedes in F1 to (hopefully!) future championships.

Whats the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is when I help other members of my team or other departments come to a better outcome than they would have done if I hadn’t provided them with additional detail. This is simply because I can clearly see I am adding value to the business and am helping us get the edge over our competitors. Effectively, the interactions with colleagues in such a high pressured environment is the part of my job that makes me want to come in each day.

Whats the most challenging aspect of your role?
The introduction of the Cost Cap has proven to be the most challenging (and stimulating!) part of my time at HPP. Every area I work with has been affected in some way and has required change to adapt to be most effective in a cost cap world. We are constantly looking to push the envelope and find more cost-effective ways of running HPP. Ensuring we have covered all sections of the regulations to maximise our cap is one of the most important and enjoyable parts of my work at HPP.

What tips would you give someone who wants a career/role in your team?
If you’re aiming for a career in our team, my top tips would be to stay organised and be lithe to change, as adaptability is key in such a rapidly evolving environment. Additionally, as I learned on placement don’t be afraid to take responsibility and own your tasks with confidence, whilst staying fit and healthy is crucial for maintaining your energy and focus. Lastly, always be ready to ask questions and never hesitate to seek help when needed – everyone here is part of one big family!