Charlie Häggstam – The Swede in F1
Formula One/F1, the highest class of single-seat auto racing, is sanctioned by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile). Since its inaugural season in 1950, the FIA Formula One World Championship has remained the premier form of racing, even though other F1 races were routinely held until 1983.
The sport’s traditional base is Europe, and hosts nearly one half of each year’s races. Lately, the scope of the sport has expanded substantially, and more Grand Prix championships are held in other continents.
Throughout the F1 race, drivers are allowed to make pit stops to repair any damages and change tyres. F1 engineers and mechanics are, therefore, indispensable to F1 racing. One such F1 mechanic is the Swede, Charlie Häggstam, who has made a name for himself in the world of F1 racing.
Charlie’s F1 Journey
A Swedish national residing in Northampton, UK, Charlie Häggstam is a race car mechanic par excellence. A highly passionate, hardworking motorsport mechanic who worked his way up the ladder, Charlie graduated from Swedish touring cars into WTCC. Through the win in A1GP, he reached into GP2 and now has 5 years of rich experience in various Formula 1 teams. He has worked with the cars of drivers such as Vitaly Petrov, Kamui Kobayashi and Jarno Trulli.
Starting out as the no. 2 mechanic in Sweden, Charlie has come a long way to be the no.1 mechanic with Caterham F1, rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of F1 racing at Super Nova GP2 and A1GP, iSport International GP2, Meritus GP2 Asia Series, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Virgin Racing F1 and Team Lotus F1.
The Swede Beyond F1
The star F1 mechanic, apart from being highly skilled in motorsports, vehicle dynamics, racing and automotive engineering, is also a polyglot with knowledge of English, Norwegian and Danish, besides of course Swedish. When not fixing racing cars, he likes travelling, skiing, snowboarding, wake-boarding and kite-surfing.