About this episode
When Joel Vermiglio isn’t working his day job at McLaren Formula 1, he’s in his Garage 68 Motorsport workshop building an old VW Caddy… with a McLaren twin-turbo V8 in the rear tray, a Lamborghini gearbox, and Porsche 911 suspension. 👉 Use 'JOEL100’ to get $100 off HPA’s Tuning Starter Package: https://hpcdmy.co/starterb Joel never set out to work in Formula 1 — in fact, he didn’t have any plans to get into motorsport at all. That changed in his late teens when he got into cars, went on to study, and eventually found his way into the industry. In this conversation, Joel shares his unexpected journey to joining one of the world’s top F1 teams — proving that you don’t need a PhD in mechanical engineering to claw your way to the pinnacle of motorsport. We also dig into the inner workings of a Formula 1 team, getting as much behind-the-scenes insight out of Joel as we can. From design and build to the day-to-day operations and the brutal pace of life in F1, it’s a fascinating look into what really goes on. Finally, Joel walks us through his VW Caddy project — a Frankenstein build sparked by spotting a perfectly good(ish) McLaren race motor in the scrap bin at work. Now it’s a running, driving weapon with supercar DNA and a whole lot of DIY ingenuity. Joel’s been using our courses to learn parts of the build process that he had little experience in, so this chat also offers an interesting look at how what HPA teaches gets applied in the real world. Follow Joel here : IG: @garage68motorsport YT: Garage 68 Motorsport WWW: mclaren.com/racing/ 👉 Don’t forget, you can use ‘JOEL100’ to get $100 off HPA’s Tuning Starter Package: https://hpcdmy.co/starterb Timestamps: 0:00 The TRUTH About Life in Formula 1. 3:42 What was your passion growing up? 5:34 How and when did cars come on the scene? 9:23 How did a passion for electronics and cars lead to a career in motorsport 14:49 A career in motorsport can be a hard nut to crack. Just how challenging is it 23:36 Landing a job with McLaren GT 28:34 What’s involved in turning a supercar into a competitive GT race car? 33:29 What’s involved in being a systems engineer for McLaren F1? 43:30 What is a Cirrus tester and why do you use it? 44:59 Component reliability and lifespan in F1. 52:20 Crimping vs Soldering? 56:40 How has your role at McLaren F1 changed over the 9 years you’ve been with them? 1:01:25 Balancing F1 and family life. 1:10:54 What are your thoughts on where F1 is going? 1:16:34 McLaren’s development path in 2024. 1:19:57 Is Red Bull going to be lost without Adrian Newey? 1:22:54 Can you tell us why you’re an HPA member? 1:26:05 What is this project car you’re building? 1:34:52 Final three questions.