F1: Infiniti awards U.S. engineering student Renault F1 opportunity

An American university student has been awarded the career opportunity of a lifetime in Formula 1, as Caitlin Bunt was confirmed as the U.S. winner of the Infiniti Engineering Academy.

Beating nine other finalists from around the United States, an intense shootout event at Infiniti's U.S. headquarters in Nashville saw 24-year-old Caitlin Bunt from Rockford, Ill. become the first ever female winner of the Academy.

Bunt, who took an undergraduate degree at Kettering University in Michigan prior to pursuing her Masters degree at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, will spend six months working at the Renault Sport F1 team's headquarters in Enstone, UK and six months working at Infiniti's European Technical Center in Cranfield. She will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between Renault Sport and Infiniti.

The Infiniti Engineering Academy, now in its third year, is a one-of-a-kind global search for the world's best up-and-coming engineers. For 2016 seven placements have been made available, with one winner chosen from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Russia, United Arab Emirates, China and Asia–Pacific.

This unique automotive-to-motorsport training program for brilliant young engineers, possible thanks to Infiniti's technical partnership with Renault Sport, has attracted 4,108 registrations from 44 different countries. A number of previous winners have gone on to secure full-time careers in the automotive and motorsport industries.

After a series of interviews, 10 U.S. finalists were invited to attend the selection event in Nashville. They were put through their paces in a structured assessment day by a panel of judges from Infiniti and Renault Sport Racing.

"I'm ecstatic! I'm still processing it all; it is pretty surreal," said Bunt. "I'm so excited for the opportunities ahead and the chance to work with Infiniti and Renault Sport Racing. It has always been a dream of mine to work at the pinnacle of motorsport.

"I wouldn't be an engineer without the influence of my dad. I got my first experiences in motorsport working with him. I know he'll be proud and that all of my family will be so excited to hear this news!"

Tommaso Volpe, Global Director, Infiniti Motorsport, added: "The extraordinary level of interest in this year's Infiniti Engineering Academy has been absolutely fantastic. Students have seen the accomplishments of our Academies graduates, who have gone on to forge successful careers in the automotive industry. This has meant that more students than ever want to use the Academy to gain vital engineering experience and launch their own careers as Caitlin will now have the chance to do.

"With F1 becoming more and more relevant to the automotive industry and an increased focus of the placements this year being on the road car development, we are training a new generation of engineers who will play a key role in the crossover between the two industries."