Conversation with Sebastian Vettel’s Public Relations Manager, Britta Roeske

She is not frequently in the spotlight, but takes on an important role behind the scenes. F1Technical.net’s Balázs Szabó spoke to Sebastian Vettel’s Public Relations Manager, but this time not about her driver, but about Britta’s journey into Formula One.

The ambitious and energetic German has a job that is envied by many. She works at the pinnacle of motorsport, travels around the world for practically the whole year dealing with the pressure of hugely successful Teams and Drivers.

Britta has been in Formula One for over a decade, but her way into the Moving Circus was not a direct path. She was born and grew up in Essen, Western Germany. Interested in the media, she studied economics, modern languages and journalism.

”I first went to study in Leipzig then I moved to France for a year and finally returned to Trier, in Germany, in order to finish my university studies. I studied Economics, French and German with a focus on journalism.”

After finishing her studies, she grabbed an opportunity at Renault where she joined the traineeship programme of the French company in Brühl near Cologne. She gained a wealth of experience by working for the internal and external communication and the product communication departments of the firm.

“After my studies, I applied for a job at Renault Germany, where they offered a 2-year traineeship in communication. One day I helped working on an event at Nürburgring and I met Flavio Briatore and Patrizia Spinelli. They asked me whether I would like to move to Enstone and work for the Renault F1 Team.”

In 2005 she joined the Red Bull Racing Team and was part of that team working with Sebastian as he and the team won four consecutive World Championships. In 2015 she left Red Bull with Sebastian when he joined Ferrari.

Asked how enthusiastic and passionate she was about motorsport, she conceded that it was less alluring for her at first. She had intended to work for a French company, making use of her French studies.

“I always wanted to work for Airbus; that was a kind of dream for me. However, things did not work out that way. Motorsport is also a very interesting business. I love the combination of technical and human factors. In the world of Formula One, you do such a variety of work. You can report on the drivers, on the team, work at the factory, on the training, on the nutrition. You are in contact with different media departments all over the world, for example lifestyle, sports, economics, that is why I find this job so interesting.”

She has been working with Sebastian Vettel since 2010 when the German approached and ask her to work for him as Public Relations Manager. Due to the long and tight race calendar with 21 races in 2018, Britta is always on the move during the season. The work does not come to a halt in winter since many things have to be prepared for the next season when Formula One action resumes.

During race weekends, Britta works in Ferrari’s media motorhome together with Kimi Räikkönen’s press officer and she is constantly in contact with Ferrari’s Head of Communications, Alberto Antonini. The job is really diverse.

Asked what still motivates her after so many years in motorsport, she gave a clear answer: “The variety in the job, the many languages and cultures and that you never know exactly what will happen that day or the next”