by Lucia Conconi is Politecnico di Milano Alumna: she graduated in Aerospace Engineering and has over 20 years of experience in the world of high-performance motor racing, including more than 15 years as technical manager in Formula 1 with British teams such as Mercedes, Brawn GP, and Renault. As head of vehicle performance at Sauber Motorsport Formula 1, she led multidisciplinary teams integrating vehicle dynamics, advanced simulation, modeling, software, data analysis, and advanced testing under time and performance pressure. Now a consultant on innovation, performance optimization, and organizational transformation, she shares her knowledge on managing complex multidisciplinary technical challenges.
She was a guest of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology on November 7, where she told students and researchers about the challenges of developing complex systems in today’s rapidly evolving engineering environments and the innovative approach needed to meet these challenges.
Doctor Conconi, Please tell us about your academic and professional career.
I graduated from the Politecnico di Milano with a degree on the structures track in aerospace engineering. My undergraduate thesis, which was supervised by Professor Vittorio Giavotto, was on the passive safety of touring cars. This work resulted in a paper that was presented at the SAE Motorsport Engineering Conference and Exhibition in Detroit.
After graduating, I worked for a few years at CSI, a testing and engineering centre in Bollate, in the Province of Milan, where I developed my soft skills working on projects in the automotive, motorsport, and aeronautics industries, along with others. After that, I went to work at Audi Sport in Ingolstadt, Germany, following my passion for racing cars and participating directly in their development. There, I worked on projects for Le Mans and the DTM (the German auto racing championship).
My passion then took me to Formula One, where I started with Honda in England in 2008. People familiar with motorsport know that 2008 was quite a turbulent year for all the teams, and Honda withdrew from Formula 1 that year. The team continued as Brawn GP, and we won the championship. That was an interesting and educational experience that taught me resilience and the merits of waiting and careful evaluation, because situations that might seem negative at first can change for the better.
I stayed in England for ten years, where I also joined Mercedes and then Renault in Enstone, working on vehicle dynamics, performance and suspension systems. In 2019 I was called to head the vehicle performance department at Sauber, which was also known as the Alfa Romeo F1 Team at the time.
Let’s say that Formula 1 kept me busy for quite a while, but after so many years, I decided to apply my project management skills to different areas. In my opinion, this is a very interesting moment. Many industries are accelerating development, there is a lot of innovation, and I have noticed that some of the methods and techniques that I experienced with Formula 1 also contain elements that can be applied to other sectors.
Such as?
For example, there is now a lot of talk about agile development. This is a natural feature of motorsport, since radical changes in performance occur even during the season. Today, I see that other industries are also taking a closer look at this organisational approach.
For me, there have always been two equal features of motorsport: technology and personal aspects. I think organisation and collaboration have a big influence on our work. A Formula 1 team is very interconnected, and the results come if there is collaboration. When there is no collaboration, it also shows in the performance.
Is it these two experiences — accelerated development and the influence of personal aspects — that you want to take beyond motorsport?
Yes. I firmly believe in learning by observing how different industries behave, because there are typical methods in certain industries that can be replicated with different perspectives. There is no one single recipe for solving a problem, so it is interesting to see how elements from various industries can be used to build a new method
How do you apply this functional approach to your work?
A systemic vision is crucial in complex, interconnected environments, which are becoming the norm in many sectors. However, a global vision alone is not sufficient. You also need to know how to manage and balance the various disciplines. This is important not only from a technical point of view, but also with respect to organising the various roles and teams
So do you imagine a person with a variety of skills who can spread out, or a team composed of people with sector-based skills?
Today, we have to deal with very specific disciplines. There are entire teams working on a single discipline. In Formula 1, for example, there is a team for the aerodynamics, one for the engine, one for the tyres, and so on. So it is necessary to have people with in-depth vertical knowledge, but it is also important to have people with soft skills. The function of my department has always been to balance the various disciplines, but whoever is in charge of a specific subject on a team should still be able to understand how the others are organised, to coordinate, encourage communication, and move more quickly and agilely.
Your words evoke an image of an engineer who is asked to do a lot more than in the past. Is this right?
I don’t know if they are asked to do more, but doing something different? Definitely. True, there are certain aspects of technology that have helped make our work easier and more automated. But as we have said, different sectors and expertise are increasingly interconnected. They need a global vision and an ability to communicate with other disciplines. I do not believe that engineers who work in isolation, always performing a certain type of calculation, can exist any longer. They need to develop technical skills but also personal and organisational skills.
I always urge students to be open to learning, and always with a collaborative spirit, remembering that technique always interacts with people’s talents. I come from a world that is constantly looking for new technologies to integrate as much as possible to expand performance. But this technological advantage is not useful if it is not integrated with personal talent.
Where can students look for all these skills?
While the technical part is already provided perfectly in university courses, there are, unfortunately, few courses on soft skills and collaboration. This is why it is important to always be curious and open to exchange.
In my opinion, the most important skills include an openness to interacting with other disciplines, an ability to analyse and communicate data, a critical approach, and a curious mindset. In this sense, my time at the Politecnico was invaluable because it helped me to develop these talents as well.
Is this systemic vision also important in resolving crises?
Yes, absolutely. In interconnected systems, it is important to understand if there is an anomaly and get to the root of the problem. It has happened to me many times that a problem initially associated with one area actually came from another. And this is precisely why critical thinking is essential. I would say that it is especially so when you need to make very quick but informed decisions.
What is your approach to artificial intelligence? Do you use any particular tools or instruments?
I have taken courses recently on integrating various AI tools within complex organisations. I really like the definition of artificial intelligence as a tool that serves to amplify personal capabilities and intuition.
Is there any particular professor or course from your years at the Politecnico that you remember fondly?
There are a lot! From Professor Giavotto’s aerospace structures and materials course, to courses on flight mechanics, systems, aeroelasticity, and many others. Those were all extremely educational.
I have never seen a strong contrast between my aerospace background and motorsport, because I have really found a lot of elements in common. In England, it is common for aerospace engineers to work in Formula 1 and motorsport in general. Some approaches to vehicle dynamics also derive from flight mechanics. I think the engineering education we received at the Politecnico is quite broad and versatile.