The Right Formula
At UConn, Sukumaran, shown at McLaren outside London, was president of UConn Formula SAE. The mechanical engineering major ran the student organization that designs, builds, and races F1-style cars.
When McLaren Racing won the most coveted victory in automotive sports — 2025’s Formula 1 team championship — Abhi Sukumaran ’24 (ENG) from New Milford, Connecticut, played a part.
“The pinch-me moment was my first time as simulator engineer for Lando [Norris],” 2025’s first-place driver, Sukumaran says. “I was responsible for running the session, preparing his cars, briefing him. My first time saying the words ‘Radio check, Lando’ to the best driver in the world, I thought: I’m 23 years old, right out of college!”
After graduation, Sukumaran moved to the U.K. for a master’s degree in motorsport engineering from Oxford Brookes University. McLaren then hired him as a performance analysis engineer, primarily to work on the simulator team for superstars Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished in first and third place, respectively, for the 2025 season.
Based at the McLaren Technology Centre, in the town of Woking about 20 minutes outside London, Sukumaran hopes to get promoted in the coming years to McLaren’s actual “race day” staff, yet he admits growing up rooting for a different team and driver: early-2010s four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing.
Millions discovered Formula 1 thanks to last year’s Academy Award Best Picture nominee “F1,” but Sukumaran has a criticism regarding the film’s accuracy: “Brad Pitt saws at the steering wheel 900 times: turning left, right, left, right, which looks better on camera,” says Sukumaran. “But these drivers are trained from age 12, when they’re racing go-karts, to drive as smooth as possible.”
As for his own driving skills, how does Sukumaran fare at the popular F1 Arcade game? “I’ve gone a couple times with my friends. Fortunately, I beat them!” he laughs. “They would definitely make fun of me if I didn’t.”
By JESSE RIFKin ’14 (CLAS)