Welcome to the Fast Lane | F1 Journalism with Emily Selleck

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Getting her start in Motorsports

#1. What was the first moment that you can remember discovering motorsports?

I grew up in Australia where motorsport is definitely a bigger part of the cultural conversation than it is here in the United States - at least in the early 2000s. Supercars are huge, IndyCar (in its CART days) raced in my hometown of the Gold Coast and F1 has always had a really strong contingent of Australian drivers. So, motorsport has always been a part of my life, but if you'd told me 10 years ago that I would have turned it into a career, I wouldn't have believed you.‍

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#2. When did you decide that this is where you wanted to build your career?

I've worked across nearly every beat in the newsroom  throughout my career, from crime and court to education and health. But when I moved to New York, I really honed in on pop culture and entertainment because I was particularly passionate about that beat. 

While motorsport had always been a part of my life, I knew that I didn't want to be a traditional sports journalist writing race reports and that kind of thing. But when ‘Drive to Survive’ started kicking off and I noticed friends talking about Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo, I thought to myself, ‘okay, there might be an opportunity to come into this sport and cover it in a way that not many people are doing.’ ‍

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Emily's Current Role

#3. What was your first role and the first step you took towards becoming an F1 writer and journalist?

At the New York Post I was predominantly writing about pop culture. The paper - if you’re not familiar - covers New York teams like the Rangers and the Yankees really thoroughly, but I noticed nobody was writing about F1. 

I essentially pitched the idea of a mini F1 beat to my editor and, thanks to her, I was able to get accredited and start going to races. It was a really low pressure way to jump into F1 because my main focus was still my 9-5 job covering pop culture. That was about three years ago, and I’ve since moved to ‍Motorsport Network where I lead coverage of everything happening off-track, from fashion, lifestyle and entertainment stories, to in-depth, personality driven features about F1 drivers. 

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#4. What does a standard day look like for you?

 The great thing about journalism is that every day is so different. My job is split into time on the road, and time in the office in New York. When I’m at home, I might spend an entire day with my head down writing stories, or I could be on calls with publicists and team personnel talking through ideas, or attending events. A lot of sponsors and brands that are involved in F1 also have a presence in New York, so funnily enough, there’s always quite a bit happening in the city. 

When I’m traveling, a day can really look like anything! Interviews at the track, attending sponsor events, catching up with contacts, you name it. 

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‍#5. What are the most rewarding and the most challenging parts of journalism in F1?‍

Rewarding

I think the most rewarding part of the job is producing content that you're really proud of and you feel might move the needle in some way. Something I loved about working in newspapers in Australia was how much our coverage impacted the local community, but obviously I feel that sense of pride in a very different way working in F1. It’s great to write stories you’re so passionate about then walk into the paddock and have people tell you they really like what you’ve been doing. 

Challenging

 I guess the challenging part of journalism on the whole is that it’s a 24/7 job and it can be difficult to switch off. For F1 in particular, you end up working a lot of weekends and weird hours so you have to be very passionate about it.

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#6. What are the top 3 qualities that have helped you succeed in the F1 'press pool'?

 Passion

F1 is unlike any other sector or beat I’ve covered, so above all, you need to be passionate about it. I couldn't imagine doing this job every day if you didn't love it and have a real passion for it.

Tenacity

I think you need to be tenacious and be able to handle rejection and people saying no. It’s also important to stick by what you believe is a good story or keep pushing for an interview that you think will serve you readers. ‍

Strong news sense 

Having a good news sense is really important. That's true across the board in journalism, but I find it’s crucial in a space like F1 where so many other journalists have access to the same sources and interviews as you. Looking at a story through a unique lens and drilling down to the crux of what your readers really care about can make you stand out. 

To give you an example, I was the only reporter who asked Lando Norris about Donald Trump’s appearance in the McLaren garage at the Miami Grand Prix. Everyone on social media was talking about the president’s brief conversation with Norris, so that seemed like an obvious question to ask since our readers were already discussing it. 

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Emily's Advice

#7. If you could go back and change anything about your path to where you are today, what would that be? 

The first thing that comes to mind is that I wish I had started covering F1 earlier in my career, but ultimately, I don’t regret any of the steps it took me to get here. Perhaps this is a boring answer, but I wish I started a podcast before everyone jumped on the bandwagon! 

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#8. If you could give one piece of advice to someone looking to follow in your footsteps what would that be?

It’s a difficult question because I think a lot of my trajectory has come down to being at the right place at the right time and having the correct skill set for the job. Perhaps my biggest piece of advice is to create your own luck and your own opportunities.

When I look back on my path, nobody handed me a job in motorsport, I really carved out a unique space for myself. If it's something that you're passionate about - no matter what you're doing right now - there's probably a skill that you're honing or contacts you've made that could help you get there. I was covering pop culture before I moved into sports! 

There's no one path into the F1 paddock. Everyone has such a unique and different story so carving your own path is likely the best way! ‍

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Emily's Favorites

#9. What is your favorite race/ event/ moment that you’ve had in your career thus-far?

 The first thing that comes to mind is the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. It was my very first time on the starting grid and was also, objectively, one of the craziest grids. I remember looking up and seeing David Beckham and Tom Brady on either side of me. The energy of that grid was just insane, and it’s a feeling that still hasn’t gone away when I step onto the grid now. 

I also had such a great time at the Indy 500. The IndyCar scene is so different to F1 in terms of access and how open the paddock is, so I’d recommend that race to anyone who has a chance to go. 

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#10. You focus more on the culture, fashion, and lifestyle elements of Formula 1 - what has been your favorite interview you’ve done?

 I think it could be recency bias, but I went out to Vegas a week before the race and shot a really fun video with Liam Lawson. In F1, it’s not uncommon to be given 5 minutes (down to the second) to talk to a driver, so when VCARB gave us the opportunity to ride along with him and his partner Hannah, I knew we had to take the opportunity. 

One thing that's always struck me about F1 is that some journalists are practically spending more time with the drivers than their own families, but at the same time it's rare that you get a chance to properly know them. So it was a fantastic opportunity to chat to Liam about everything from his trajectory at Red Bull and growing up in New Zealand to his love of music.