University of Bath student Ashley Grimshaw has returned to his studies after spending the summer on a coveted internship programme with Red Bull Racing.
Ashley, who is studying computer science, applied for an IT internship with the F1 world champions in March – and went on to beat thousands of applicants to secure one of five places on the scheme.
Red Bull chose the five successful applicants for roles in aerodynamics, electronics, marketing, IT and procurement through a unique online test, as opposed to a standard CV application process.
Questions and tasks in the online test assessed a multitude of skills, ensuring all potential interns had the desire, motivation and attitude required for the ‘ultimate summer job’.
The search received a phenomenal response with more than 100,000 people taking the online test with 14,000 successfully passing the first stage. Ashley scored an outstanding 90 out of 100.
He was then sent a blank sheet of paper and asked to write on it why he had what it took to be a part of the Red Bull team.
As a lifelong F1 and sports fan Ashley impressed Red Bull Racing with his enthusiastic approach to problem solving through IT innovation.
Ashley and 49 fellow applicants visited Red Bull Racing’s cutting-edge Milton Keynes factory in June where they met team principal Christian Horner and the respective department heads to find out more about the summer job that would test their industry knowledge and push their passion to the limits.
Mr Horner said: “It’s so exciting to find promising young talent like Ashley coming up through the ranks. Ashley has a bright future in IT and I hope that we and Red Bull have been able to help provide him with valuable experience as he plans his future career.”
Ashley believes the internship has provided him with invaluable experience to help progress his career. He said: “The internship was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further develop skills that will allow me to be a better employee in the future, whichever direction my career takes.
“The best part was the satisfaction of knowing the work I had carried out during my time at Red Bull was already being used by other members of the team.”
Pictured: Ashley Grimshaw, second from left, and the Red Bull interns with F1 driver Sebastian Vettel
