UWS graduate Isla Mackenzie’s ambitions to make it as a racing driver is ​told in a ​BBC One network documentary, as part of the series ‘Our Lives.’

Isla who joined Williams Racing as a Prototype & Test Technician following graduation from the BEng (Hons) Motorsport Design Engineering at UWS in 2017, is now working as an engine tester for Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team, while chasing her dream of becoming a driver.

BBC Director of Nations Rhodri Talfan Davies said: “Our Lives is a celebration of remarkable people across the UK – their dreams, aspirations, and their determination to make things happen.”

The episode featuring Isla describes how she has a sought-after role at one of the world’s top Formula One teams, testing engines for some of the biggest names in motorsport, but has always had the thirst to succeed as a driver herself. This season, she has been signed up by a team that has seen her potential, and she is going for it at full speed.

Isla’s rural upbringing in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides couldn’t seem further from the fast-paced world of motor racing. But early freedoms, from riding horses to tearing around fearlessly in old cars on the family farm, gave her a first taste of speed. Now she is training for her F3 debut and will need to draw on everything she’s learned to succeed. In the male-dominated and expensive world of motor racing, can this 29-year-old island speedster achieve her breakthrough?

Watch the episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001phf9