Latest news with #BernieCollins
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Formula One's Bernie Collins: ‘When you speak to people in the pub, someone will say that's an unusual role for a girl'
Bernie Collins is not long home from a grand prix when she makes a quick pit stop in Dublin . The Sky Sports Formula One analyst is brighter-eyed than most people would be if they missed a night's sleep while returning to Warwick, England , from the Saudi city of Jeddah via a stopover in Doha, only to repack two days later. But after more than a decade of frequent-flying to often far-flung places, the Co Fermanagh woman's travel recovery tactics have been well-honed. 'It's fine. You get methods of coping with it,' says the F1 performance engineer turned top race strategist turned esteemed TV pundit. After a photo-shoot for The Irish Times in the Dylan Hotel, she changes into her own clothes for our interview, which takes place as her star rises in tandem with the profile of the sport itself. READ MORE 'Everywhere, I think, the support is going up, the viewership is growing, the female audience is expanding massively,' she says over freshly poured tea. 'Now people know pretty much every team on the grid, and you see a lot more people on the street wearing F1 merchandise. I've been fortunate in the timing of my move, for sure.' F1's new cachet beyond its traditional fan base – credited to the soapy appeal of Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive – could be reinforced by the June release of F1, a Hollywood film starring Brad Pitt as a veteran driver and Kerry Condon as a race director. Condon has said she 'got a lot of help' from Collins, who served as an adviser on the project. 'Given that I have only just started in TV, film has blown my mind,' says Collins. She wasn't brought on board because she was a female strategist, but because she would have an eye for 'all the little background details', like what the garage layout should be, and what the screens should look like. 'Then I had some time with Kerry and some of the other actors on the pit wall to explain what their emotion would be at certain points in the story.' This foray into film is another serendipitous gig for Collins, who resigned from her role as head of race strategy for F1 team Aston Martin in January 2022 with no destination in mind. She just knew she was exhausted from a full season of going from circuit to circuit, city to city, year after year, with a 'pretty relentless schedule' of 22 races in 2021 – including a 'triple-header', or three consecutive race weekends – prompting the gear-change. 'We did Mexico, Brazil and Qatar, three big time-zone shifts, three big long-haul flights, and for engineers there's no downtime at all. I just got to Qatar totally broken, jet-lagged, not sleeping, struggling to stay awake. I thought I was going to make some big mistakes if I didn't pull myself together.' That Christmas, with F1 between seasons, she decided the situation was 'not recoverable'. Still, in that demob-happy way, during her six-month notice period the agony of the schedule eased. I think in Ireland it is very easy to have the notion that there's obviously someone better for that job and not necessarily put yourself forward for it — Bernie Collins 'People say lovely things when you're leaving. It was a real confidence boost.' Among these lovely things was an on-mic thank you from then Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, who told her after her last race in Budapest that she was a 'great person', while the team hailed her as a 'true inspiration to women in motorsport'. The lovely things haven't dried up now she has switched lanes to broadcasting. 'Bernie Collins is the bomb' is the title of one admiring Reddit thread marking her arrival to the Sky team. And when she announced on social media that she would be attending 10 out of a possible 24 races this year – an 'ideal number', she says – the replies had one common theme. They wished she was doing all of them. Williams driver Carlos Sainz talks to interviewers including Bernie Collins before the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah last month. Photograph: Mark Sutton/Formula One/Getty To understand why Collins commands so much respect, let's reverse back to her F1 origin story. You don't have to be a motorsport aficionado – you don't even need to have caught a second of Drive to Survive – to find it brilliantly refreshing. Growing up in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, Collins (christened Bernadette) remembers F1 being on television without paying much attention to it. At Mount Lourdes Grammar School in Enniskillen, her strongest subjects were maths and physics. Unsure what she wanted to do with her life, she opted to study engineering at Queen's University Belfast, thinking this would keep her options open. She was enjoying its mix of academia and 'building stuff', but it didn't occur to her that motorsport, or anything automotive-related, could be her future path until along came an annual engineering competition called Formula Student. This involved designing and building a single-seater race car and racing it against other university teams at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix. As an engineering student Bernie Collins entered a competition that involved designing and building a single-seater race car and racing it against other university teams at Silverstone. Photograph: Queen's University Belfast/PA 'I remember my first time at Silverstone, I was standing on the start/finish straight with this little car that we had built, thinking it was a really cool thing to have done, and that it would be nice to work in that world,' she says. But her career in the sport almost stalled before it even began. When F1 team McLaren sought applicants from Queen's for its graduate scheme, Collins didn't apply at first. Her lecturer had to encourage her a second time. 'I think in Ireland it is very easy to have the notion that there's obviously someone better for that job and not necessarily put yourself forward for it. I just thought hundreds of people are going to apply for that.' When she and another Queen's student got deep into the recruitment process, they were invited over to McLaren's F1 base in its Surrey technology centre – a vast, ultra-modern complex. 'To me it was just like space age. It was just so futuristic. You go there and you think, 'wow, unbelievable'. I remember thinking 'well, at least I've seen the factory',' she says. In the end, she was recruited and stayed with McLaren for six years, initially moving from suspension design to gearbox design. On race weekends, she supported its F1 team from mission control, then helped out at the 'cold, wet, windy tracks' where its GT3 sports cars raced. Bernie Collins: 'Imagine the kudos for a company that sponsors the next female F1 driver? That would be a really big thing.' Photograph: Alan Betson Being trackside isn't for everyone, she says. 'It is quite a hard environment. It's long hours and late nights, and it's tiring.' But by giving up her free weekends, she wound up being offered the chance to become the performance engineer for F1 driver Jensen Button for two races in 2013. It was a breakthrough. Now she would be trackside at F1. She did those races in India and Abu Dhabi, then the whole of the 2014 season, bringing her to places and cultures and climates she had never been. The trick was finding time to embrace it all amid 'a lot of late nights trying to make sure everything was as it needed to be with the car'. In 2015, she left McLaren for the more modestly resourced Force India team, which later rebranded to Racing Point, then to Aston Martin, and soon became its head of race strategy. Now she was charged with getting its drivers the best spots on the track. 'Qualifying was always quite intense. Then on Saturday night, you came up with a plan for how the race might go. But the main part was the race. You're trying to react to what life throws at you.' Collins with British motorsport executive Jonathan Wheatley trackside before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Photograph: Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty How strategists respond to weather conditions, safety car interventions, accidents or whatever else happens in the race is what separates good from bad ones, she says. The work doesn't end at the finish line. 'The week after you do all the analysis on what you should have done. What would have happened if I stopped one lap earlier? What would happen if I started on a different tyre?' She liked this part, too, despite the pain of easy hindsight and the 'very public' nature of her role. 'You feel like you're the last line of defence, so if you make a mistake and it loses the team position or points, you've got to get off the pit wall and walk through the garage with people who have worked all week to get the car built, but they've not had the best result because you've made the wrong decision.' Drivers aren't always reticent either. 'They can have their opinion on the radio, and that's the bit everyone hears. Sometimes the discussion in the office is very different when they see the data. You have to sort of bite your tongue a little bit,' she says. On the pit wall, she was no stranger to adrenalin. 'We put heart monitors on everyone at one point, and you could see where the pit stops were from people's heart rates. You could see how many stops we did, and which ones went right, and which ones went wrong.' It was a midfield team, meaning it was 'never meant to win a race'. Any position on the podium 'felt like a fantastic result'. But in the penultimate race of the 2020 season, its driver Sergio Pérez triumphed at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, giving Collins both an unexpected race victory and the title for her 2024 book , How to Win a Grand Prix , now out in paperback. Bernie Collins: 'I loved being on the pit wall, but I wouldn't give it up for the work-life balance I have now.' Photograph: Alan Betson Collins talks about this undoubted career highlight in the same methodical, measured fashion that is so valued by F1 viewers now and must have served her well on the pit wall. 'There are so many things that could have been different that day, but actually the decisions we made were pretty straightforward, because we had done a lot of prep,' she says. Other successes were less visible, while a podium finish could disguise some bad decisions. She remembers being congratulated at the airport after the team podiumed in a wet German race – wet races being the most stressful – but thinking 'we have had a shocker'. People love hearing an Irish voice, and people who have been watching for a long time have got in touch to say they've learned something new — Bernie Collins Being on an F1 team is highs and lows, the lows being 'pretty rubbish', the highs being very high indeed, but though she misses that team atmosphere, she has no regrets about leaving. 'I loved being on the pit wall, but I wouldn't give it up for the work-life balance I have now.' After her final race, she did video explainers for F1TV. Then, when Sky asked her to do a podcast and she sent over some graphs in advance, the broadcaster realised it didn't have anyone quite as deep into the data and invited her to attend Jeddah the following year. 'I wasn't really thinking about all of the people watching at home, so the first one was not daunting. Then I started getting messages from friends going, 'Why are you on commentary?'' The response to her engineer's grasp of F1's complexities has been 'really strong', especially from Ireland. 'People love hearing an Irish voice, and people who have been watching for a long time have got in touch to say they've learned something new.' This support has helped her adjust, she says. 'Before I had a real influence on the results. What happened in the race was directly affected by what I did that weekend. Now I don't affect the results in any way, but I maybe have more influence on people's enjoyment of the race. It's taken me a wee while to get used to the idea that it's still as important a role.' Television has tested her because she's 'probably much more of an introvert', she adds. This probable introvert is now in demand off-screen too. As an exemplar of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, and with all the bonus thrills of the pit wall and live TV on her CV, she is often asked to speak at corporate events. It might be about using data in races, pit-stop teamwork or female recruitment into industries dominated by men. She wasn't the only woman in the F1 pit wall, but there's 'definitely' space for more, and the way to do it, she believes, is to boost the numbers who study engineering. 'Not every girl is going to want to be an engineer, I get it. But I'd love to encourage it a bit more,' she says. 'Within F1, I don't think there's any feeling that it's not a woman's role, but outside when you speak to people in the pub or whatever, there will be someone saying that's an unusual role for a girl.' Although she thinks the image of engineering has improved, people sometimes still suggest it's 'a dirty role, like a mechanic's role', she says. 'I've never worn an overall in my life.' [ Formula One still some way off seeing a female driver in a Grand Prix Opens in new window ] With viewership of F1 estimated by researchers Nielsen to be 40 per cent female – 'crazy for the sport that it is' – the push is also on for the next F1 female driver. The last woman to enter a race did so 33 years ago. The F1 Academy, a female-only racing series, is 'starting to show young girls that girls can go racing', says Collins, though 'the big thing' is to increase the number of seven- to nine-year-old girls who go karting. 'That's probably more about getting their parents to think that karting is possible for them at that age.' She's encouraged by the advent of more female-targeting sponsors into the sport. 'Imagine the kudos for a company that sponsors the next female F1 driver? That would be a really big thing.' As for the current F1 season, led at the time we speak by Oscar Piastri ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, she thinks Piastri has it. 'Because he's just so cool, calm and collected. He's really got his head together.' [ Max Verstappen wins Emilia-Romagna GP to close gap on title rivals Opens in new window ] Beyond F1 and public speaking, her life at home in Warwick, in the hinterland of Silverstone, has also been busy, and not only because she fosters guide dogs and volunteers as a first-aider for St John Ambulance. Soon it will be time to pop champagne away from the podium: During a Christmas skiing holiday in Val-d'Isère, she got engaged to her partner Ryan McGarva, a former F1 pit crew member and mechanic who quit to go freelance around the same time she did. 'At some point I need to devote some time to planning a wedding,' says Collins. Wherever life and F1 take her, she can rely on her family in Fermanagh to keep her grounded. 'They see stuff in the paper, things like that, and they find it a bit bizarre, I think. They'll take a photo and send it to me on the WhatsApp group and say 'Why are you being an idiot?' There was one recently where they had my age wrong. I'm 39, but they put me down as, like, 34. My cousin sent me a picture, going, 'Who are you trying to kid?' So you still get the same amount of abuse.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
From rural Fermanagh to Formula One fast lane - how Bernie Collins blazed a trail for women everywhere
Bernie Collins isn't just one of the faces of Sky Sports, she is one of the most extraordinary Irish people in modern day sport. The rise and rise of the Fermanagh-born, all girls convent-educated woman through the ranks of Formula One as a design engineer before moving to television puts her in an extraordinary position. She is the one in the commentary box who knows what she is talking about when it comes to gearbox, transmission, tyres, pitstops and analytics. READ MORE: What channel is Isle of Man TT on? TV and live stream info for 2025 event READ MORE: Live GAA on TV this weekend with 13 Championship games set to be screened And the petrolheads out there - following years of commentators going 'wow, yeh', 'great, yeh', 'fast, yeh' - know it. Collins' passion is for the car and it shows, having served her time time an an engineer with McLaren (2009-15), starting as performance and senior strategy engineer and graduating eventually to head of race strategy at Force India/Aston Martin (2015-22) She proved a major force behind Force India, with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg as their front-line duo, finishing fourth in the 2016 and 2017 formula One Constructors' Championship. While another high point came with their only F1 victory, for Perez, at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain in 2020. Moving to F1 TV as an analyst in 2023, it took just a year for Sky Sports to come calling, by which time her book 'How To Win A Grand Prix, from pitlane to podium - the inside track' was on the shelves. Less about go-faster stripes and 'wow, petrol, yeh, driver, wow' but a deeper dive into the background, the pitlane, the car, the dynamics and the analytics it has been perceived as one of the most intelligent and accessible books ever written about the sport. 'I did engineering because I enjoyed it, I enjoy maths and physics,' says Collins who grew up near the village of Maguiresbridge in Fermanagh. 'And even though we've got a lot of good motor sport in Ireland, there's a lot of rallying and a lot of bikes, etc, I was never went to any of that when I was younger so I never really thought about getting into sport,. 'But I think there's more roles opening up in Formula One now that you can do, it is not just about Race Directors and drivers but the more that you dig into it, there's a lot of Irish in the middle of the action in various roles. 'Like I came to the front at the minute because I'm on TV and people are aware of me or whatever but, obviously, I worked in the area for 10 years before that so my family knew and stuff but not so much people in Ireland.' The greening of the pitland is continuing she says, Formula One fully fledged industry and they advertise looking for the best. 'I thought the engineering side of it when I started, there was going to be solely me but actually everyone has been really friendly. 'There's a lot of Irish in the pit lane in a variety of roles and I think that we've got some really good universities here that do really good degrees. 'There's a lot more publication of not just engineering roles, but of marketing, legal, HR is showing up too, you know, everything that any company needs, that an F1 team needs. So I think there's more of an awareness that you can go into it. 'I went to an all girls convent in Fermanagh, Mount Lourdes Grammar School, right. 'And no one was publicising engineering with regard to getting into it and and I think that attitude is changing and, you know, I think hopefully someone like me on TV is showing that it is possible to do a career with it and be successful at it.' In this Collin's progress, such a good story, has perked perceptions - Formula One is not the closed shop it was once accepted as. 'I think it started with a really good feature last year about my story and, I guess, when it was screened it was grand but before that you didn't really see much about working F1. 'I think the TV then only used to show the drivers and when you were never going to be a driver, you used just to work away, it was your job. 'Then when I did my book, I remember I did a book signing in Fermanagh, actually I did two, and the number of young girls that came to that was incredible. I would say 80 percent of the people there were young girls under 25 and it was great to see. 'So the support from home has been incredible, they love hearing the racing stories connected to Irish stories and the support has been fantastic from home and it's been great to sort of be picked to do that, to show that side of it, show the engineering side of it." Having left her job working on strategy for Aston Martin, Bernie says she was happy to take her foot off the pedal a bit in order to make more time for family and friends and work for Sky Sports. 'You end up missing a lot of real life, weddings, birthdays or whatever it might be. 'That's fundamentally why I left my role. I love doing strategy and I enjoyed working for Aston Martin but I didn't want to commit 23 weekends a year that I had no option to have off. 'There's very few jobs where you can't take a week off at some point in the year when you need to, so it just got to the point where I thought that was enough. 'Working with Sky, I do have that greater flexibility so having that extra freedom makes quite a big difference."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bernie Collins and Andy Stevenson join Grand Prix Trust
Sky Sports pundit Bernie Collins and long-serving Aston Martin Formula 1 team sporting director Andy Stevenson have been appointed trustees of the Grand Prix Trust. The trust was founded by three-time world champion Jackie Stewart in 1987 and is a benevolent fund that helps support those who either currently or have previously worked in F1 and have fallen on hard times. Advertisement The organisation is led by ex-F1 driver and commentator Martin Brundle, while other existing trustees include former Williams technical chief Patrick Head, ex-team boss Ross Brawn and Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley. Collins has become a popular pundit in recent years having previously served as head of strategy at Aston Martin. Stevenson, meanwhile, has worked at the team since its F1 debut under the Jordan guise in 1991, when he served as a mechanic. 'We are delighted to welcome Bernie Collins and Andy Stevenson as additional trustees for the Grand Prix Trust,' said Brundle. Andy Stevenson, Sporting Director, Aston Martin F1 Team Andy Stevenson, Sporting Director, Aston Martin F1 Team Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images Advertisement 'They are two highly regarded F1 industry professionals with considerable experience, and who also have a passion and respect for our 75-year-old sport. As we increase the reach and achievements of the Trust, they will play an important role.' Collins said she felt 'privileged' to be joining the board of trustees and added: 'I look forward to being part of the great work that the Grand Prix Trust undertakes and contributing in a positive way.' Stevenson said: 'I'm honoured to have been invited to join the Board of Trustees for the Grand Prix Trust. 'The Trust plays a vital role in supporting the people who have given so much to the world of motorsport, often behind the scenes. Advertisement 'I'm proud to contribute to an organisation that offers practical help and guidance to members of our community when they need it most. 'It's a privilege to be part of something that reflects the values of care, respect, and long-term commitment within the sport.' Alongside supporting those who have spent at least two years working in F1, the trust also offers a bursary fund to help children from underprivileged backgrounds progress through college and secure jobs in the sport. To read more articles visit our website.
Extra.ie
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
PICS: Sky F1 pundit team thrill Irish F1 fans with exclusive event
Formula 1 fans were out in force this week as the Sky Sports F1 pundit team were in town for a special event ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. Fan favourites Bernie Collins, David 'Crofty' Crofy and Simon Lazenby joined Irish F1 fans in The Leinster Hotel on April 24, and took part in a panel hosted by Conor Moore, and a Q&A session with those in attendance. From chatting about their fond memories of Eddie Jordan, to the importance of gear boxes, and who they think is going to win the 2025 Drivers Championship, the trio were in flying form and delighted the audience with their tales. David Croft, Bernie Collins and Simon Lazenby at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Ireland's own Bernie Collins at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Conor Moore at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Carl Mullan at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy David Fitzpatrick and Terrie McEvoy at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Benny Bracken at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Rebecca Handley and Megan O'Connor at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Cara Louise McAllister at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Andy Asco, Kyman Power and Ben Gavin at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Tolü Makay at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Donegal Daddy at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Michael Hingston and Sinead Hingston Green at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Paul Ryder at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Marty Hernandez at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Daniel Humphreys and Rebecca Nolan at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Daragh Curran and Adrian Martin at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Nadia El Ferdaoussi at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Mary-Claire Fitzpatrick at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy The Godfrey Twins at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Bill Oshafi at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy Simon Lazenby, Bernie Collins and David Croft at the Sky Sports Formula 1 lunch at The Leinster. Pic: Brian McEvoy
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Bernie Collins: I felt like a fraud when I moved from the pit wall to punditry
For more than a decade, Bernie Collins accrued a wealth of experience at the highest level of Formula One. In 2014 she was performance engineer to 2009 world champion Jenson Button at McLaren before eventually becoming Aston Martin's head of race strategy. Her most glorious moment in F1 was the chaotic Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 when Sergio Pérez went from last on the first lap to take a memorable maiden victory for both himself and Racing Point. Yet when Collins moved from the pit wall to in front of the camera two years ago, becoming an on-screen analyst for Sky Sports F1, the transition was an uneasy one. 'For a long time, I felt like I was a bit of a fraud, not doing enough work on the pit wall. I felt a bit like I wasn't contributing as much to the sport. Before, the decisions I made directly affected the outcome of the race,' she says. Her work at the heart of F1 is serving her well. In the past two seasons, she has become a reassuring presence, ready and eager to distil the complexity of myriad race strategies into plain language for viewers at home. Despite a lowering of the competitive stakes, there was some discomfort in the early stages of her broadcasting career. 'When you're on the pit wall you're very confident in your ability, you are very 'in your moment'. You've done a lot of work on the data and you've got the support network around you. To step away from that and then be on screen, much more public facing was a bit more daunting. 'When I did my first race [for Sky Sports] in Jeddah in 2023, I probably didn't really think about the number of people that were watching at home. I felt a bit initially like I wasn't contributing as much to the sport,' she says. The switch to broadcasting was a leap and there has been plenty of support from her Sky colleagues. The likes of Martin Brundle and David Croft – with hundreds if not thousands of commentary stints behind them – have been supportive. 'You can learn something from them every day that you are out with them. It can be something really minor like how they are holding a microphone or how they phrase a question to someone. I am sure I annoy a lot of people asking a lot of questions all the time, but I am really keen to learn.' Collins, however, does not shy away from robust debates within the Sky team. Although her colleagues have decades of experience in the sport, she has the most recent and relevant direct knowledge of how things work in modern F1. 'I think they've learnt a lot about what happens within a race team and what happens on the pit wall. We have some quite strong discussions about what we think is going to happen. We've all got different opinions. I hope they have learnt something from me. 'There are times when a discussion will come up because of what is happening in practice and I'll say 'no, this is why teams do a certain thing'. I think it has been really good learning on both sides.' Collins' route into F1 was not mapped out in the traditional way, indeed she got into motorsport 'the wrong way round'. Whilst races were on at home in the background, it was not until her mechanical engineering degree at Queen's University Belfast that she even considered motorsport as a career. 'I think a lot of people [on the course] end up thinking of working in aerospace or those big shipyards in Belfast. People think about those types of industry when they think about mechanical engineering,' she says. In her time at Queen's she and six other students took part in the yearly Formula Student competition, where universities and colleges design and build a single-seater racing car within a set of regulations. The 2009 competition held at Silverstone turned out to be a defining moment. 'They were taking down all the stands and clearing up all the stuff from the grand prix that happened a few weeks before. We did a straight-line run on the start/finish straight – the old one, and that was really good fun. That is what spurred my desire to get into motorsport.' Collins then made it onto McLaren's graduate scheme in 2010, but merely entering the McLaren Technology Centre for her interview with Paddy Lowe and Jonathan Neale will always be looked back on fondly. 'You go under the tunnel into McLaren and then you go out in the lift and the boulevard is full of all the old Formula One cars. There's an entire line of McLaren's history. 'I just thought 'wow, even if this is all that happens, I've gotten to do this interview and seen this building and all these really cool old cars and walk among them, then I am pretty happy with my day out'.' She has not looked back since that day 15 years ago. As she enters a third season for Sky, it is easy to imagine her becoming a staple of Sunday viewing for the next generation of F1 fans. Though those first races in front of the camera were uneasy in some aspects, Collins now has a new acceptance of the importance of her broadcasting role. 'When you get out and speak to people in the real world, that is when it really brings it home to me the difference I make to whoever the viewer is at home. The more people I interacted with from the audience, the more I realised that actually my influence on the viewer is much bigger than it's ever been before.'
