When we get in our cars on a hot day, most of us are primarily concerned with how the car will keep us cool, but for one Old Stop, his concern is figuring out how we can cool the car – but not just any car, Formula One racing cars…

Mathonwy Thomas (OS 2007) knew he wanted to be an engineer from a young age. Having grown up ‘tinkering’ with things, and building Lego sets, he has always had a head for problem solving. So it seemed like a natural fit when he left SGS after studying Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A Level, to go on to study Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering at Cambridge University.

“I became interested in F1 in Sixth Form,” said Mathonwy, “This was around the time Lewis Hamilton came onto the scene and was really dominating the track. The more I watched, the more I looked up to it and wanted to be part of it.”

“I wanted to get into F1 to make the racing cars, but it’s taken a bit of time for me to get there.”

At the start of his career, Mathonwy worked at McLaren and designed cooling systems for luxury road cars. Now, he works as a Principal Aerothermal Engineer at Williams Racing.

As part of his role, Mathonwy is tasked with finding ways to keep the race car cool while on the track as conventional fans are too heavy.

“The engine produces a lot of power and gets really hot,” added Mathonwy, “so the challenge is to cool the car a suitable amount without adding too much weight which will affect speed.

“We usually use vents to help the cooling process, but have to be careful with the number of vents we use as that can affect the car’s aerodynamics and cause drag. It’s a tight line to walk between the car being too warm or cool – both of which can affect its performance.”

Through his role at Williams Racing, Mathonwy works directly with racing cars, something he has dreamed of doing since his school days.

“I never thought I would be able to get back into F1 but here I am and I am so glad I never gave up on it.”