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Welcome to Paddock Pass – the series in which we delve deep behind the scenes of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship to bring you the latest interviews and insight from the world of all-electric city street racing.
We catch up with Rui Alves, strategy engineer at Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler to hear about how he found his passion for motorsport strategy through gaming, why he wants to see a race in Cuba and his three top tips for starting a career in motorsport.
What's your role?
My main role at Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler is strategy engineer. So, all the strategy, the pre-race studies of what could happen, what are the most probable situations to unfold in the race and what to do when something happens. I study all the options to see what we can do to go up the grid or to keep our good position on the grid.
In the background, I do also the IT preparation for the team. So, all the network settings, all the tools that everybody uses and I make sure that everybody is happy and that everything is running nice and smooth.
What inspired you and how long did you know you wanted to work in racing?
I would say, from the early days watching Formula One with my parents - following Ayrton Senna and all his achievements. My passion for it really grew from there. I remember when I was younger, my favourite PC game was the GP2. I spent hours and hours playing it. I did full-length championships on it because I had the time back then! That's when I started looking at data and I got really involved in it. I suppose that's when I realised I really enjoyed doing that.
How did you get into motorsport?
As a kid, I already liked and followed motorsport, so I decided that this is what I'd like to do when I grow up. So I studied mechanical engineering and by the end of the degree, I was already trying to get involved in being a race marshal at Estoril.
Once my studies had finished, I sent my CV and letters to teams. One finally stuck and so I started cleaning tyres. I started as the tyre guy in Le Mans and from there, I started as a car engineer in a GT series. Then, finally I got into GP2 and after a couple of years there, I got into Formula E.
What's the best part of your job?
When you're first across the line, for me that's the stuff that I like about this job!
Formula E involves a great deal of travel. What do you miss the most when you're away at races?
In a race weekend, I would say, I miss home, my wife and my kids - they are on top of my priorities. But going a bit out of the box, I would say I miss going for my morning run by the beach where I live in Portugal.
What's your career high point to date?
I would say the best one is our win in Mexico because it was one of those examples that your homework paid off. People say we were lucky because we had the safety the car, but I was ready for it. And I knew exactly in that time, that it was the call to take.
What’s your favourite race in the Formula E calendar?
I mean, I'm a boat lover - I live by the sea - so I would say, Monaco would be my favourite.
Where would you like to see Formula E race in the future?
Personally, I would like to see a home race back in Portugal. But I would also love to see a race in Cuba!
Top three top tips for someone looking to start a career in motorsport?
Be prepared for long hours.
Be prepared to do long hours through the night and to not have a lot of sleep during the days you're racing!
Have a team spirit.
At the end of the day, everybody needs to push themselves, but it needs to be as a group. You know everybody has their role. Whether it's cleaning the tyres, setting up the car, changing parts or cleaning up the garage - it's only when everybody is giving their best then the results will come.
Be passionate about it.
You're going to be away from home for a long time, so if you don't like it, its already a bad starting point. If you have the passion for it, then the job will be more rewarding.