Bernadette Collins
{{short description|F1 strategy engineer and TV presenter}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bernadette Collins
| image =
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| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date |29 |2016|November|19}}
| birth_place = Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
| death_place =
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| education =
| alma mater = Queen's University Belfast
| occupation = Strategy engineer, Television presenter
| years_active = 2009 – present
| employer = Sky Sports F1
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| television =
}}
Bernadette "Bernie" Collins is a Formula One (F1) strategy analyst for Sky Sports and F1TV and former F1 strategy engineer for the Aston Martin F1 team.
Born in Northern Ireland, she began her career as a trainee with McLaren after graduating from Queen's University Belfast in 2009. Three years later, Collins became a performance engineer and became its leader in that role full-time in 2014, working with 2009 World Champion Jenson Button. She joined Force India in 2015 and helped the team finish 4th in the following year's Constructors' Championship.
Collins was an ambassador for the United Kingdom government's "Make it in Great Britain" campaign in 2012, and featured on Forbes 2016 list of 30 Under 30 list for Manufacturing & Industry in Europe.
Biography
=Early life and education=
Collins was born around 1985/1986. She is from the village of Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland,{{cite web|title=Meet the former QFR member who now plans Force India's F1 strategies|url=https://queens-racing.com/2018/06/06/meet-the-former-qfr-member-who-now-plans-force-indias-f1-strategies/|publisher=Queen's University Belfast|date=8 June 2018|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107094457/https://queens-racing.com/2018/06/06/meet-the-former-qfr-member-who-now-plans-force-indias-f1-strategies/|archive-date=7 January 2019}} and attended Tattygar Primary School outside Enniskillen.{{cite news |last=Meredith |first=Robbie |date=19 June 2024 |title=Bernie Collins - making it from Fermanagh to Formula 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czvv5pnj2vpo |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=BBC News}} Collins' father works in a garage but not as a mechanic. She described herself as a partial "tom-boy" because she built and dismantled farmyard machinery with her father.{{cite news|last=Healy Fenton|first=Anna|title=Trackside in Macau – the female advantage|url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1360229/trackside-macau-female-advantage|newspaper=South China Morning Post|date=19 November 2013|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107093735/https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1360229/trackside-macau-female-advantage|archive-date=7 January 2019}} Although she did not intend to be employed within motor racing,{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2018/11/28/bernadettecollins/|title=How This Formula One Strategist Is Breaking Barriers For Women In Motorsports|last=Robinson|first=Cheryl|date=28 November 2018|work=Forbes|access-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233231/https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2018/11/28/bernadettecollins/|archive-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live}} Collins was undecided on her future career during a period of five years at the all-girls Roman Catholic Mount Lourdes Grammar School.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/web_ang_v8_pao_brochure_a5_wims_engineering_careers16.pdf|title=Engineer Your Career: A World of Opportunity in Motor Sport|publisher=FIA Women in Motorsport|pages=10–13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185204/https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/web_ang_v8_pao_brochure_a5_wims_engineering_careers16.pdf|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=live|access-date=7 January 2019|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kieran |date=4 April 2024 |title=Bernie Collins: ‘I don’t just represent women in F1 – but engineers too’ |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/bernie-collins-interview-sky-f1-japanese-grand-prix-b2523394.html |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=The Independent}} Eventually, she chose to enrol on a mechanical engineering course at the Queen's University Belfast because she liked mathematics and physics.{{Cite news|url=https://fermanaghherald.com/2014/02/making-marks-on-her-career-track/|title=Making marks on her career track|date=22 February 2014|work=Fermanagh Herald|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107130330/https://fermanaghherald.com/2014/02/making-marks-on-her-career-track/|archive-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Q&A with Jenson Button's Performance Engineer, Bernie Collins|url=https://www.mclaren.com/group/news/articles/q-jenson-buttons-performance-engineer-bernie-collins/|publisher=McLaren|date=7 July 2014|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233510/https://www.mclaren.com/group/news/articles/q-jenson-buttons-performance-engineer-bernie-collins/|archive-date=7 January 2019}} Collins was one of three female students in a class of 30. Her interest in motor racing emerged in her final two years at university when she was part of the annual Formula Student programme that is organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers where universities design, test, construct, and drive small-scale formula style racing cars.{{cite web|last=Scrafton|first=Lewis|title=More Than a Man's World: How Women Are Helping Shape the Future of Formula One|url=https://www.complex.com/sports/2017/07/formula-one-women-shape-the-future|work=Complex|date=6 July 2017|access-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107094924/https://www.complex.com/sports/2017/07/formula-one-women-shape-the-future|archive-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Sylt|first=Christian|title=The Girl Power That Really Drives Formula One|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2016/08/01/the-girl-power-that-really-drives-formula-one/|work=Forbes|date=1 August 2016|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108045830/https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2016/08/01/the-girl-power-that-really-drives-formula-one/|archive-date=8 January 2019}}
=Career=
File:FormulaStudent1.jpg in 2021]]
Following her completion of the Formula Student programme, but before she graduated in 2009,{{Cite web|url=http://blog.condecosoftware.com/formula-one-technology|title=Inside Formula One – behind the technology|date=6 March 2018|publisher=Condeco Software|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110191035/http://blog.condecosoftware.com/formula-one-technology|archive-date=10 January 2019|url-status=live|access-date=10 January 2019}} 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.{{cite web|last=Fagnan|first=René|title=F1: Meet McLaren Racing's Bernadette Collins|url=https://www.auto123.com/en/racing-news/f1-meet-mclaren-racings-bernadette-collins?artid=169790|publisher=Auto123|date=26 December 2014|access-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107094611/https://www.auto123.com/en/racing-news/f1-meet-mclaren-racings-bernadette-collins?artid=169790|archive-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live}} 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. Her position entailed her rotating departments every three months to gain knowledge on each role and inter-team requirements. During her graduate year, Collins transferred into McLaren's design department and worked primarily on the transmissions of their vehicles. She also volunteered as an engineer at GP3 Series race weekends in order to broaden her experience.
Collins received an offer to work part-time for the McLaren GT sports car racing team and undertook support for its factory operation to manage its greenhouse gas emissions, an area in which she desired to work. In 2012, she was promoted to the role of a performance engineer, making her first trackside appearance at that season's German Grand Prix. That June, Collins was named as the United Kingdom government's Make it in Great Britain's 30 Under 30 list and she consequently became an ambassador for the campaign.{{Cite web|url=http://makeitingreatbritain.bis.gov.uk/NEWS-28062012092844|title=Make it in Great Britain 30 Under 30 revealed|date=28 June 2012|publisher=Make it in Great Britain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630185908/http://makeitingreatbritain.bis.gov.uk/NEWS-28062012092844|archive-date=30 June 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=7 January 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/24/women-motorsport-engineering-stereotypes|title=Women in motorsport: 'We don't fit the old engineering stereotypes'|last=Burns|first=Corrinne|date=24 August 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117134544/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/24/women-motorsport-engineering-stereotypes|archive-date=17 November 2014|url-status=live}} She worked as a race engineer for the United Autosports GT team in 2013. When McLaren's primary performance engineer was absent on paternity leave in late 2013, Collins was temporary assigned to the position for the Indian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix and was later handed the job full-time for the 2014 season. She worked with 2009 World Champion Jenson Button and the two had a good working relationship.
In May 2015, Collins left McLaren to join Force India as a performance and senior strategy engineer to driver Nico Hülkenberg as part of her objective of becoming an operations engineer.{{Cite web|url=https://fr.motorsport.com/f1/news/bernadette-collins-ingenieure-chez-force-india-662366/662366/|title=Bernadette Collins – Ingénieure chez Force India|last=Fagnan|first=René|date=1 January 2016|publisher=motorsport.com|language=French|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233209/https://fr.motorsport.com/f1/news/bernadette-collins-ingenieure-chez-force-india-662366/662366/|archive-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|access-date=7 January 2019}} 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.{{cite web|last=Proudfoot|first=Jenny|title=Meet the inspirational women proving that F1 is 'more than a man's world'|url=https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/work/f1-women-522144|work=Marie Claire|date=12 July 2017|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233338/https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/work/f1-women-522144|archive-date=7 January 2019}} Collins was featured by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 list for Manufacturing & Industry in Europe.{{cite web|title=2016 30 Under 30 Europe: Industry – Bernadette Collins, 29|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/mfg45jmhm/bernadette-collins-29/#1fd192c77758|work=Forbes|date=2016|access-date=7 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108045707/https://www.forbes.com/pictures/mfg45jmhm/bernadette-collins-29/#1fd192c77758|archive-date=8 January 2019}} 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 in 2022.{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Gail |date=11 February 2025 |title=From Mount Lourdes to Monte Carlo: Fermanagh F1 analyst Bernie Collins loves life in the fast lane |url=https://www.irishnews.com/entertainment/from-mount-lourdes-to-monte-carlo-fermanagh-f1-analyst-bernie-collins-loves-life-in-the-fast-lane-K5PUMSUEIVHOHDI5VMIRS4LIWI/ |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=The Irish News}}{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Rachel |date=15 November 2024 |title=Bernie Collins' 'How to Win a Grand Prix' - Book Review |url=https://www.goodwood.com/grr/f1/bernie-collins-how-to-win-a-grand-prix--book-review/ |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=Goodwood Road & Racing}} Collins cited the exhaustion of an increasing race calendar as the main reason for her leaving Aston Martin.
In 2022, she joined F1 TV as an analyst.{{cite news |last=Madden |first=Andrew |date=18 December 2023 |title=From Fermanagh to Formula 1, Sky Sports race pundit Bernie is living life in fast lane |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/motor-sport/formula1/from-fermanagh-to-formula-1-sky-sports-race-pundit-bernie-is-living-life-in-fast-lane/a1755036948.html |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=Belfast Telegraph}} The following year, Collins joined Sky Sports on their coverage of Formula One from that year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix,{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kieran |date=17 March 2023 |title=Sky add ex-McLaren and Aston Martin strategy guru Bernie Collins to their F1 team |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-sky-sports-pundit-bernie-collins-b2302840.html |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=The Independent}} to analyse race strategy over select race weekends and provided commentary and conducted a gridwalk.{{cite web |url=https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12835642/bernie-collins-former-aston-martin-strategy-head-joins-sky-sports-f1-2023-coverage |title=Bernie Collins: Former Aston Martin strategy head joins Sky Sports F1 2023 coverage |date=17 March 2023 |access-date=17 March 2023}}{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Claudia |date=3 January 2024 |title=‘Ultimately, you have to go for the positions that are there’: Bernie Collins on going from Queen’s to Formula One |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/2024/01/03/ultimately-you-have-to-go-for-the-positions-that-are-there-bernie-collins-on-going-from-queens-to-formula-one/ |access-date=18 March 2025 |work=The Irish Times |agency=PA Media}} 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
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{McLaren F1}}
{{Force India F1}}
{{Racing Point Force India}}
{{Racing Point}}
{{Aston Martin F1}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Bernadette}}
Category:Motorsport people from County Fermanagh
Category:Formula One engineers
Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Category:21st-century women engineers
Category:British women engineers
Category:Year of birth uncertain