SCTR x Naomi Schiff: In Paris with The Motorsport Misfit.

Now plying her trade as an analyst on Sky Sports’ coverage of Formula 1, Naomi Schiff always seemed destined for a life in sport. Competing in judo, swimming and athletics, her world took a sharp turn at the age of eleven when she was invited to a birthday party at an indoor karting track. A lifelong passion was born that day and within a year she would be entered into her first official race.

Despite the world of motorsport appearing relatively homogenous, Naomi was breaking the mould, going from The Club Championships to representing South Africa on the world stage. Her passion was now developing into a full-blown career as she made her way around the world to compete amongst the best.

Sitting down with Jordan Edwards and SCTR, Naomi explains her racing journey, the pitfalls she faced along the way as a woman and a person of colour, as well as what life is like covering the most popular motorsport in the world.

Motorsport: Barriers of Entry…

Any young person trying to get into motorsport will face barriers but particularly women and people of colour. One thing that’s been clear to me from the very beginning is that there weren’t many people that looked like me so it was hard at times to feel like I had a place. Overall, I was probably quite fortunate that I was racing in South Africa which has such a diverse population but even then, there were so few people racing who I could identify with. At that age you just want to fit in but the more obvious the differences are between you and everyone else, the less you want to be compared to them.

That’s why Lewis Hamilton played such a huge role in helping me believe. I first started racing in 2007 which was also Lewis’ first season in Formula 1. Suddenly, he was propelled into the spotlight and it felt like the face of the sport was changing. I had someone I could look up to who was on the path that I wanted to be on. He wasn’t exactly like me but he was something like me and that was enough motivation. There would be so many occasions where we’d be racing on the same weekend and I used to look to his results as inspiration – if he’d done well, then it was a good omen for me!

Diversity In Racing…

Improving diversity in motorsport is such a complex issue and it really depends on which part of the ecosystem we’re talking about. Remember, for all the millions of kids who want to be Formula 1 drivers, there are only ever about twenty seats available so it’s always tough to make it, especially when opportunities are dictated by finances. You can be the most talented prospect in the world but if you’re not able to enter the most basic level of motorsport then you’ve just hit another barrier and it’s difficult to see a way around that.

So, getting to sit in a Formula 1 car is a tall order but there’s such a big field of opportunity outside of that. Think about all the people in the paddock who make up a team; there’re mechanics, race engineers, strategists, and this is where I think we can start to make a difference. With it being a traditionally elitist sport, one of the most important things to do is increasing the exposure. Already we can see the broadcast strategies in recent years have done wonders for public interest in the sport which is a great start but then we have to think about opening up more pathways and making it more accessible for people to actually get involved. One of the findings from The Hamilton Commission report was that teams were largely scouting their talent from a select few universities which, again plays into the “elitist” mindset. If they are able to consider a wider scope of universities, they’ll be able to bring some amazing people on board.

Overall, there does seem to be more of a drive towards diversity and inclusion today than there has been in the past – we’re having these conversations and the world is exposed to motorsport in a totally new way; something I feel we are seeing the results of. I can look around the paddock and, although there’s still not many of us, I do see more and more people from diverse backgrounds working in Formula One which is a great step in the right direction and that’s something I can see continuing into the future.

Naomi Schiff: The Racing Driver/Presenter…

I absolutely love what I do now! For such a long time I felt like I was in limbo with my racing career and I was struggling to keep going. I’d competed in the 2019 W Series but due to circumstances, I was facing the next two years without any race experience. Being a driver was such a huge part of my identity – it was all I knew since the age of eleven and I would think to myself “Who the hell am I if I’m not ‘Naomi Schiff: the racing driver?’”

I approached W Series and told them that I needed to find another direction for my career. I was working on some movies at the time as a stunt driver so I considered putting more of my energy into that. That’s when they offered me the opportunity to be an analyst for their 2021 season which is what launched me into the world of TV.

My time with Sky started as a bit of a whirlwind. It was my first race weekend and I was supposed to be part of the team providing analysis throughout the broadcast. Sadly, our lead presenter had to pull out for personal reasons and one of the other analysts tested positive for COVID. As the entire team had travelled from the airport to the track together they all had to go into isolation for the weekend so there I was, in the “driver’s seat” for the entire broadcast; something I’d never done before! I think I was quite lucky that I didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation so I was able to keep pretty calm and just see it as another opportunity to show people what I can do. They were clearly happy enough because I’m still here, on the channel that I’ve watched my whole life.

Advice For The Next Generation…

The most important thing will always be to believe in yourself. If you can’t dream big and back yourself, then nobody else will. We’ve talked about all of the things that will stand in your way throughout your career so you really can’t afford to be your own barrier. Part of that is making the effort to get yourself out there and putting yourself in front of the right people because opportunities don’t come looking for you. Someone once told me “you’ve got to be in the station to catch the train” and it’s so true. Never be afraid of irritating people too much because ultimately you want them to remember you and if you’re good enough at what you do, they will.

It’s also very important to understand when something isn’t serving you and being ok with letting that go. I believe in trying 100 times before you give up but if you’re putting everything into pursuing your dream and it’s only making you unhappy then there’s no shame whatsoever in trying something different. I had to go through that experience myself to understand it and realise that happiness is so much more important.

The Future…

Well, on a personal note, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time is bring money back to South Africa. It was where I spent most of my childhood and it would be amazing to have some kind of fundraising project which can be used to help the communities out there. Logistically it’s quite a difficult process and we want to make sure we do it properly. We’re still in the “idea” stage at the moment but going back to visit the country always inspires me so it’s not something I want to let go.

Professionally though, I’m at a fantastic point in my life where I can say that I’m happy with what I’m doing right now so all I want to do is continue on this path. I love working on the broadcasting side of things so I’m not looking too far beyond that at the moment. It’s such a privilege to be able to say, possibly for the first time in my life, that I’m genuinely happy with where I am and with what I’m doing. I’m in a very fortunate position and I consider myself extremely lucky that everything’s worked out the way it has.

You can of course find Naomi covering the Formula 1 season on Sky Sports F1 as well as on her Instagram page @naomischiff and on Twitter @NaomiSchiff.