Leah Penny grew up knowing she wanted to be an engineer. Combining that with her love of cars, which was passed down to her from her father and grandfather, Penny started Carleton University’s aerospace engineering program in 2021 with the hopes of working on the aerodynamics of racecars. But as Penny learned more about car […]
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Leah Penny grew up knowing she wanted to be an engineer. Combining that with her love of cars, which was passed down to her from her father and grandfather, Penny started Carleton University’s aerospace engineering program in 2021 with the hopes of working on the aerodynamics of racecars.
But as Penny learned more about car engines and powertrain systems and got more involved with Ravens Racing, Carleton’s formula society of automotive engineers (SAE) team, she made the switch from aerospace to mechanical engineering.
“My grandfather was a mechanical engineer and I have a bunch of cousins that are also mechanical engineers. So I kind of grew up knowing about the profession … So then when I became really interested in cars and racing, it became the obvious path for me to take,” Penny said.
When the time came to consider work placements, Penny decided to apply for a one-year co-op placement at Red Bull Racing in the U.K. to work on the team’s Formula 1 (F1) racecars.
“(Red Bull Racing) had online applications for student placements. I was lucky enough to get an interview and … to land the position … A lot of engineering students at Carleton usually take a 12- to 16-month placement between their third and fourth year. I just ended up not doing it through the school,” Penny told OBJ.
She set off for the headquarters of Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes, U.K. at the end of June 2024.
As a student mechanical designer of internal combustion engines, she has spent most of her days over the past year working on the design of the engine for Red Bull’s 2026 racecars.
“I design part of the engine – the combustion engine part of the power unit – that Red Bull will be using for their 2026 racecar,” Penny said. “Next year in Formula 1, there’ll be new power unit regulations. Previously, they’ve been using a Honda power unit, but now we’re making everything in-house, so it’s all designed and manufactured in Milton Keynes.”
The M-7 campus, Red Bull’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, is a busy place, Penny said, with all of Red Bull’s various teams from mechanical design to performance working in the same building.
It’s not every day that you run into an F1 driver, unless, of course, you work at the M-7 campus. Penny said she has crossed paths with many of the team’s drivers while at work.
“A lot of them come to the campus, sometimes between races. They’ll come and do work on the simulators or to have meetings with Christian Horner (team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing). They’re there to work just as we’re there to do our job, but you do run into them, which is pretty cool,” she said.
Penny said that she’s applied many of the lessons she learned while being a part of the Ravens Racing team at Carleton to her experience at Red Bull and vice versa.
“It’s kind of cheesy but I’ve learned a lot about the importance of hard work (and) good organization (which) really sets the foundation for the success of the company,” she said.
“Red Bull is a team, as well. There’s a really big emphasis on teamwork and collaboration.”
With the help of its Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive,” F1 has seen a spike in popularity, especially among women. In late 2022, Reuters reported that women made up around 40 per cent of F1 fans, up from only about eight per cent in 2017.
Though F1 racing has become more popular among women, it still has a lot of catch-up to do to reflect that in its teams, especially since the motorsports industry has typically been male-dominated.
Penny said progress has been made to include more women and other underrepresented groups at Red Bull and throughout F1’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), by hiring from those groups and offering scholarships and promoting the motorsports industry in schools.
“I think something that helps me is that you have to be confident in your abilities and confident that you can do the job. You can’t really listen to other people who say you can’t do it or that you can’t do as good of a job. Not that you need to prove anything but working your hardest and putting your best foot forward to show them you deserve to be there as much as anybody else,” Penny said.
With her time at Milton Keynes coming to a close on July 1, Penny said her need for speed isn’t going anywhere.
“I definitely want to continue what I’ve started now, whether that is at Red Bull or at another company. I definitely see myself working in racing … I still have some time left until I graduate, so I guess I’ll see what happens and where things take me,” Penny said.
