A lesson from Antonia Terzi, the first female engineer in Formula 1
Leo Turrini |
TEDxModenaWomen
• December 2021
Antonia Terzi (Mirandola, 29th April 1971 – United Kingdom 21st October 2021) was the first female Formula 1 pit engineer. Specializing in aerodynamics, she was the brains behind Williams’ ‘walrus nose’. Originally from Finale Emilia (Modena), she graduated from Morando Morandi scientific secondary school with 60/60. In 1996, she graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Modena with 110 cum laude. From 1996 to 1999, she obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, specializing in aerodynamic engineering. She started her career in Formula 1 by working for Ferrari as an aerodynamics engineer, and from 1999 to 2001, she was part of the group of designers working under Rory Byrne, producing successful single-seater cars, such as the Ferrari F399, Ferrari F1-2000, and Ferrari F2001. In 2002, she was hired by BMW Williams, where she was given the role of chief aerodynamicist, one of the most important roles in the organization of an F1 team. She designed the FW25 competitive single-seater car, which won four races, including two 1-2 victories, as well as second place in the constructor standings. As the person responsible for contours on the BMW Williams single-seaters, under the leadership of technical director Patrick Head, she became very well-known during the 2004 championships thanks to the FW26, which was quickly nicknamed ‘the walrus’ because of its unique and revolutionary aerodynamic properties. The single-seater pushed the concept of the twin-keel to the extreme, with an unusually big and short front nose that was directly connected to the front wing to optimize air circulation under the car. After briefly collaborating with Dallara, she worked at the Faculty of Aerospatial Engineering at Delft University of Technology, Holland, where alongside former astronaut Wubbo Ockels and aerospatial engineer Joris Melkert, she designed and produced the Superbus in 2011. This was a carbon-fiber full electric drive vehicle, with 23 seats and a gull-wing door. As well as coming up with, designing and manufacturing the Superbus alongside mechanics, she was also the only one authorized to drive it. From 2014 to 2019, she was head of the aerodynamics team at Bentley Motors in Manchester, United Kingdom. In 2020, she became a full professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, which made her an ad-hoc chair of aerodynamics and sustainability. She passed away in a car accident on 26th October 2021 in Nantwich, United Kingdom. She was a pioneer, because of her determination to become the first female engineer in the strictly male-dominated world of Formula 1, and forward-looking, because of her invention of the ‘walrus nose’, which was originally not understood, but is often today lightly replicated in Formula 1.