497 Why Two Former Formula 1 Engineers Now Work in Research & Development at Unger Academy

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What are two former Formula 1 engineers doing in the Research & Development department of a trading academy? The answer has nothing to do with engines, race cars, or the glamour of the paddock... It's all about the mindset. In Formula 1, one wrong decision can cost millions of dollars. That's why there's no room for opinions, gut feelings, or the classic "I think."
Every decision is based on data, testing, procedures, and analysis carried out by dozens of engineers. When a driver asks over the radio whether it's time to pit, nobody answers based on instinct. Behind that decision lies an enormous amount of research, simulation, and analysis completed long before the lights go out on race day.
That's exactly the mindset that led us to bring Davide and Pierluigi into our Research & Development team. Both worked at the highest level of motorsport, contributing to the development of Formula 1 cars. Today, they apply that same scientific, data-driven approach to quantitative research in the financial markets.
Of course, Formula 1 and trading are two completely different worlds. What they have in common, however, is the decision-making process. In both cases, success doesn't come from having the best intuition. It comes from building a system capable of turning data into objective, repeatable, and verifiable decisions.
That is the philosophy behind our Research & Development team, and it's the same philosophy we strive to pass on to our students every day. In this clip from Unger Academy Summit Live 2026, Davide and Pierluigi share their professional journey, explain what really happens behind the scenes of a Formula 1 team, and reveal which principles from that world they still apply today in quantitative trading research.