Isla Mackenzie is on a mission – to inspire the next generation as she chases her dream of being a racing driver.



Her early life is world’s away from what it looks like now. She grew up on a dairy farm on the Isle of Lewis, in the Scottish Outer Hebrides and she was driving anything she could as soon as she was old enough to reach the pedals – be it quad bikes or tractors, and she drove a car for the first time at the age of 12.



Isla comes alive with speed – a description given by her mum – and a passion for motorsport was always there.



Fast forward to now and she finds herself fulfilling that passion, in her role as a Dyno Technician for the Mercedes F1 Team, the team that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton currently races for.



But, while the engineering side of her life is seriously impressive, her true calling is to race herself – and the talent is there.



She has been fast-tracked from karts to single seaters, she signed with IMC Motorsport and, in 2023, there were opportunities in the Monoposto Formula 3 championship.



Her journey has also been the subject of a BBC documentary – the episode Fast Track to Glory in the series Our Lives – which details just how determined she is to succeed. But it also shows just how seriously she takes inspiring the next generation of female racers, something that is evident in this podcast.



It’s a long-talked about issue, and while Isla undoubtedly wants to succeed for herself, the chance to pave the way for others adds all the extra fuel to the fire that she will ever need.



Messages



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Credits



Image: With thanks to Isla Mackenzie



Additional thanks to the Athlete Media Group for helping to organise this interview



Music: Otis McDonald