Getting to Know: Ruth Buscombe
Ruth Buscombe was born on December 21, 1989, in Great Britain. She is currently an F1 race strategy presenter for F1 TV, following her tenure as Head of Race Strategy for the Sauber Formula One Team.
A first-class honors graduate from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, Buscombe began her Formula One career with Scuderia Ferrari in 2012 as a simulation development engineer at the team’s Maranello headquarters. She was promoted to race strategist in March 2013.
In November 2015, Buscombe joined the newly formed Haas F1 Team as a strategy engineer. She left the team in June 2016 and, three months later, moved to Sauber, where she played a key role in helping the team finish ahead of rival Manor Racing in the 2016 Constructors’ Championship.
In a 2017 interview with a British newspaper, Buscombe reflected on how her childhood ambitions evolved from “wanting to be a princess, to being an astronaut, to wanting to be in F1,” a passion sparked at the age of 11. She has cited Formula One engineers James Allison and Paddy Lowe as key inspirations.
Educated at Forest School in Walthamstow, U.K., she particularly enjoyed mathematics for its problem-solving nature. Despite being discouraged from pursuing engineering due to its male-dominated environment, Buscombe remained determined. At the age of 18, she narrowly survived a serious road accident.
Reflecting on the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, she later said:
“I watched it from the hospital. I was hit by a car on day three at university. I was so scared of losing my leg and my degree. I needed a lesson in never giving up. This was it.”
Buscombe went on to study Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her master’s thesis, conducted in conjunction with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) under the supervision of former Jaguar team principal Tony Purnell, focused on the effects of the Drag Reduction System. She graduated in 2012 with first-class honors.
At Ferrari, Buscombe worked on strategy for drivers Felipe Massa and later Kimi Räikkönen from the factory’s remote garage. She also played a role in Sebastian Vettel’s first victory with the team and remained at Ferrari through the 2015 season.
At Haas, her strategies helped Romain Grosjean secure consecutive top-six finishes in the opening races of the 2016 season in Australia and Bahrain. Following reports of internal disagreements, she left the team mid-season.
She joined Sauber in September 2016, starting at the Malaysian Grand Prix. One of her most notable contributions came later that season, when her strategy enabled Felipe Nasr to finish ninth in Brazil—a result that allowed Sauber to overtake Manor Racing in the Constructors’ Championship.
After her time at Sauber (now competing as Stake F1 Team), Buscombe transitioned to broadcasting. She joined the F1 TV team in May 2024, making her debut during the FP1 session of the Miami Grand Prix.
Buscombe is also an ambassador for Dare to be Different, a nonprofit initiative founded in 2016 by Susie Wolff and Rob Jones. The organization aims to increase female participation in motorsport and challenge perceptions of women in traditionally male-dominated industries. It hosts events across the United Kingdom, inviting schoolgirls aged eight to fourteen to engage in motorsport-related activities.
““F1 is changing slower than we would like it to, but it has to evolve. We should have the best people, we should be color-blind and gender-blind to ensure that happens.””
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