Chief Polecat

Motorsport Superfan

Aspiring Journalist

SYDNEY CALVERT

Pleased to meet you…

My name is Sydney Calvert. I’m Gen Z till I die and identify as an F1 Academy superfan.

F1Polecat.com was my answer to pushing the positive message for F1 Academy and all the other grass roots motorsports that don’t quite get the love that F1 does.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Formula 1 and Lewis, Lando, Max and the F1 gang are the nuts, but I’m here as head cheerleader for the female ledges in F1 Academy as well as F2, F3, F4, Formula Ford and anything else on 4 wheels.

“I figure that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.”

-Calamity Jane

I’ve loved racing cars as long as I can remember. It’s not a sport that anyone can get into easily. The best drivers in F1 started kart racing when they were really young (Lewis Hamilton started when he was 8) and it takes a lot of time, money and commitment to get into the world’s top 20.

But don’t let that stop you getting involved. There’s loads more to motorsports than being a driver - engineers, designers, strategists, media, IT.

My personal dream is to be a sports journalist and follow in the footsteps of people like sports writer Marina Hyde and my Tik Tok fave Toni Cowan-Brown. I’d love to get an apprenticeship and work in the industry alongside some of my female icons like Naomi Schiff, Suzi Wolff and Bernie Collins.

Yeah, that’s me about 10 years ago…

But it’s so expensive to watch Formula 1…

Anything to do with Formula 1 is expensive. It’s way beyond the means of most teenagers to get to the British Grand Prix.

I count myself as really lucky as my whole family have supported my grid junkie enthusiasm. I managed to go to the Spa GP in 2023 and also the Silverstone GP in 2024. But if you can’t get to actually see a Grand prix in person, there’s loads of other events, racing venues and stuff you can get involved with.

My top 3 suggestions at the moment (and I’ll be adding reviews for each of these into my Features section soon) are:

  • The Silverstone Museum (in, guess where, Silverstone!)

  • The F1 Arcade (in both London & Birmingham)

  • The Formula 1 Exhibition (at Excel in London, until March 2025)

But if you really want to see some actual race action and get close to the track, my honest advice is to get yourself down to your local track to see what’s happening there. So for me (who lives just outside of London), that would be Brands Hatch.

Brands Hatch is a race track just off the M25. Ages ago they used to have the British Grand Prix there, but now it’s used for track days, classic car races, the Champions of Brands Series and Formula Ford. Honestly I can’t tell you what a cool atmosphere it is in the summer and you totally get the same vibe as F1, but you’re just closer to the action.

As I’m 14, obvs I need my Dad to take me there, but if you ever want to go and have someone show you around, let me know as I’ll probably be there somewhere.

Me & my bruv Logan at the top of slope at Eau Rouge in Spa, Belgium 2023

Can I get in touch with you..?

Sure you can, I’d love to hear from other superfans, anyone who wants to talk to me about F1 Academy and the other cool stuff on my F1Polecat.com.

I’m also open to collabs with other social media content creators and definitely from anyone who works in journalism and has a writing mission for me!!

The best way to get hold of me is via my contact page or email me at sydney@f1polecat.com (please note, I’m 14 years old so this inbox is monitored by adults for safety purposes, so if you’re a perv you’ll be reported to the po po) .

Look forward to hearing from you,

Syd xx

Chief Polecat, pretending I live in a treehouse