‘Not That Hamilton!’ What the Australian Grand Prix Means to Me

I’m a big musicals nerd, so when I told my colleagues that I was going to Melbourne to see Hamilton, they all thought I was a superfan of Lewis!

French by birth, but Australian at heart.

Kim Quaghebeur’s Formula One journey owes so much to the palm trees and greenery of Melbourne’s Albert Park.

Four years ago, Sustainability and Environmental Coordinator Kim had never watched a lap of Formula One racing. Today, she sits as an important cog in our Brackley wheel, helping our team achieve its sustainability goals year in, year out.

And it all started with a conversation in Australia’s other F1 city, Adelaide, where Kim moved to from her native France at the beginning of 2020.

“I studied Mechanical Engineering and then moved into Renewable Energy, but motorsport wasn’t part of my world until I discovered Formula Student,” she says.

“Friends at university were part of the Formula Student team, and I would always make suggestions to them about their projects until one day they turned to me and said, ‘either come along or stop giving out advice!’

“So, I joined Formula Student and never looked back. The friend who suggested I come along is now my partner, so everything worked out just fine!”

Kim’s pass into the world of motorsport had been secured, and her next ticket offer would take her into the grandstands of one of F1’s most famous and popular destinations – the Albert Park Grand Prix circuit.

Partner James – who was a volunteer steward for the FIA at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix and was given general admission tickets for his role – was once again the master of persuasion.

“I was convinced that the tickets would have been better going to someone else, but he [James] insisted that I come along because it was going to be such a cool experience,” says Kim.

“At the time I was working in a pub, and I’m also a massive musicals nerd.

“Melbourne is a city with a lot of musicals, so when I told my colleagues I was travelling to see Hamilton, they all assumed that I was a superfan of Lewis!”

Like so many before her in the world of F1, Kim was immediately hooked.

“It was just the coolest experience being trackside, and James would come back every night and tell us what life was like in the paddock,” says Kim.

“I was gripped. But at that moment it still felt like a side hobby because I didn’t see how motorsport and sustainability could mix.”

Now, whenever her shift ended at the pub she was working at, instead of going home, Kim would stay late with her colleagues into the early hours of the morning to watch the European races together.

A year on from her first visit and Kim and James were back in Melbourne, this time for the full Grand Prix weekend experience.

“We got tickets again, but we really made the most of them, choosing the right places to sit to get the best view of the track,” says Kim.

“We wanted to make the most of everything.

“I remember waiting between sessions and reading the event programme, and it had a small section on sustainability. I remember thinking that I would bring this up in a job interview one day!”

Enter the AKKODIS Lead the Charge programme.

A paid internship opportunity that offered a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity for one candidate to join the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One sustainability team to advance our work through data analytics, technology, and innovation – it could not have been more up Kim’s street, and she did not need asking twice.

“I thought, there is no way that I am not applying,” Kim says.

“Later in the year while waiting to hear back from AKKODIS, I went to the Singapore GP, and I walked past the Mercedes garage and thought how cool it would be to be on the other side of that barrier one day.

“The next thing I knew it was February 2024 and there I was, on site in Brackley!”

_{Kim, pictured here in 2025, has represented the team at numerous events trackside as part of her role.}

Fast forward to today, and Kim is now a full-time team member, successfully making the jump back to western Europe for the latest phase of her life and career.

“It just works, and I think it’s twofold,” explains Kim.

“First, the sustainability work we do is so interesting, we are always trying to be the pioneers.

“My time in Formula Student really helped me to deal with that pressure of reacting to situations. If something went wrong, we would work together to fix it, and that is exactly how it works at Mercedes.

“No-one ever says that something isn’t possible. We keep striving until we find a way and that mindset is so important for me.

“Everyone has been so welcoming. Within sustainability we interact with so many different departments and the attitude is always to see how we can make things work.

“It’s most supportive environment, one unlike anything else I have witnessed before .”

For 2026, Kim, who now lives just a few minutes away from the gates of Lauda Drive, will again watch the Australian Grand Prix live, this time from the comfort of her own living room.

“It’s that time of the year when everyone says, we [in Europe] have to wake up for Australia, but we have it good in the Northern Hemisphere because all the other races are at OK times!” she says.

“In Australia, it’s only really Australia and Japan that work.”