Built in the workshop, not the office
Darren Davis
Principal Consultant, DavisGT Engineering
DavisGT Engineering is a small, independent consultancy led by Darren Davis, with more than 40 years in motorsport and high-performance engineering. Before Formula 1, he built and worked on Formula 3 and Formula 3000 single-seaters, World Rally Championship cars for manufacturers, and was a senior development technician on the McLaren F1 road car. Darren worked in Formula 1 from 1998 to 2022, at a Formula 1 team and then a power unit manufacturer, and has specialised in high-voltage batteries since 2011.
Career
1998
Formula One
Joined the Benetton Formula 1 team. Started as a test and race team mechanic, then became a car build technician and later car build supervisor.
2011
KERS
Moved into high voltage as a KERS technician, then supervisor, working on the Formula 1 hybrid system of the time.
2014
Honda
Joined Honda’s UK-based Formula One power unit operation as part of a small ERS (Energy Recovery System) team, working as both a factory and trackside technician.
Helped establish and develop the ERS workshops from the outset, gaining extensive practical experience in high-voltage battery facilities within the demanding environment of Formula One.
2018
Workshop lead
Supporting the Power Unit & ERS departmental manager and taking on additional management responsibilities as the workload expanded to support a second Formula One team.
Responsible for coordinating battery build schedules, workshop operations, equipment readiness and servicing across factory and trackside activities. Improved the flow of technical information between departments and oversaw the development of workshop capabilities to support increasing battery production and ongoing ERS development.
A key achievement was the design, specification and project management of new cellblock assembly and testing workshops within a new Formula One power unit facility. Responsibilities covered contractor selection, liaison with senior management, construction and installation oversight, through to final commissioning and sign-off. The facilities were delivered to specification, on time and within budget.
Also developed specialist packaging solutions for the team’s high-voltage batteries, working with an external packaging specialist to meet dangerous goods requirements for air transport.
2022
Establishing DavisGT Engineering
Established DavisGT Engineering Ltd following a career in Formula One, bringing extensive practical experience in high-voltage battery systems, specialist workshop management and facility development into an independent engineering business.
Since its formation, the company has undertaken specialist consultancy projects involving high-voltage battery safety, operational procedures and facility development, applying the practical knowledge gained in demanding motorsport environments to wider battery engineering applications.
Key project
Responsible for the design, specification and delivery of new high-voltage battery cellblock assembly and testing workshops for a Formula One power unit manufacturer.
Managed the project from initial requirements and contractor selection through construction, equipment installation and final sign-off, working closely with senior management and specialist contractors.
The facilities were completed to specification, on schedule and within budget, providing the specialist infrastructure required to support the team’s expanding battery development and production activities.
Approach
First-hand experience of how race and development teams work: tight deadlines, late changes, and no time for rules that slow the job down.
Every procedure is written around how your team actually works, and kept simple enough to follow under pressure. Clients deal directly with Darren from the first visit to the final report, on site across Europe and remotely between visits.
Recommendations
From people Darren has worked with in Formula 1 and since.
“Darren took the lead in turning a demanding, safety-critical brief into a fully working facility: shaping the layout, selecting and putting in place the right PPE for HV work, and writing the safe working procedures the technicians relied on every day.”
“Darren was key to the development of the Energy Storage Systems… an extremely successful battery storage system which went on to win multiple F1 Drivers & Constructors Championships.”
“Darren was our reference for the ERS workshop activities and ERS track operations… I also think that Darren has been a very good link between the technicians and the engineering, understanding both the parties.”
“We worked together on Safe Systems of Work for the hybrid battery work and more especially in the development of battery build processes and systems. Darren was extremely knowledgeable in the workings of lithium ion batteries and how they should be built and handled.”
“Darren has worked with us since 2022, from the early set-up of our facility to the safety of our high-voltage workshops today. He has advised us on facility layout, battery storage, build quality, processes, PPE, emergency planning and the safety of our people, always with real attention to detail. His advice is practical, honest and based on many years of hands-on experience in Formula 1.”
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