Bernadette Collins

Career

Following her completion of the Formula Student programme, Collins applied for a graduate trainee programme with the McLaren Formula One racing team after seeing it advertised through the university's mechanical engineering department. She was initially skeptical about securing the traineeship but took advantage of an opportunity to visit the McLaren Technology Centre. Then, after completing a series of online assessments and tests, Collins secured a place on the programme in 2009. She worked as a race engineer for the United Autosports GT team in 2013. That season, she helped the team claim a podium with Sergio Pérez at the 2015 Russian Grand Prix, a fourth-place finish in the Constructors' Championship in 2016 and Pérez's maiden victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. She worked at the same team, which underwent a name change to Aston Martin, as head of race strategy from 2020 until she left the team following the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix. Collins cited the exhaustion of an increasing race calendar as the main reason for her leaving Aston Martin. The following year, Collins joined Sky Sports on their coverage of Formula One from that year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, to analyse race strategy over select race weekends and provided commentary and conducted a gridwalk. Collins received an honorary degree "for her contribution to sport" from Queen's University Belfast in 2023. She is the co-author with the journalist Maurice Hamilton of the 2024 book How to Win a Grand Prix: From Pit Lane to Podium.

Personal life Collins is married to the former mechanic Ryan McGarva.