From watching Formula1 on TV with her father to sharing Ferraris on track with him: meet Marie-Sarah

Have you ever heard of a girl driving the F2007 Formula 1 car in her free time? Well, in Imola, during the Ferrari World Finals weekend we met Marie Sertang, a normal girl from Belgium, working as a strategic communication officer for her family business. There she had the chance to drive her father’s Ferrari 488 Modificata - as he’s a Ferrari Challenge Club client, and we were delighted to watch her from the pit wall, while getting to know her story with her sister Lea. It was thanks to her father Stephane that Marie developed her interest for motorsport and as soon as she got the chance to wear a helmet she did it and tried a Formula 1. She told us her story and her relationship with cars, Ferraris in particular, in what ended up being such a great chat. Keep scrolling to get to know her!

The relationship with her father

In Imola we were lucky enough to see Marie share the Modificata with her father, which got us thinking: how must it feel to share such passion with him? Marie started working for her father’s company back in January, before that she used to live in London while he was living in Belgium, and the passion for cars and F1 was what kept them close at all times since she was younger, as her dad would often be away for work.

Sharing the car with her dad feels extra special, as he always has that proud look in his face, and this is what makes Marie feel as happy as ever. Her dad was in fact the reason she started driving the cars she drives, even if at first she was reluctant because she didn’t feel confident enough to drive them: he always reassured her that even if she made a mistake it’s life and things happen; still he’s always been pretty firm on her capabilities: “I’m sure you can do it”, is what convinced Marie to try it. Driving his cars feels magical, and we could see it by her sparkling eyes how lucky she feels to be able to experience it.

Luckily, lots of other people support her, admiring her courage and her strength in doing what she does, like her friends and family. Her number one fan, without any doubts, is her sister Lèa, who we also met in Imola. Talking with her while Marie was driving made us understand how proud she is of her, we could read it in her eyes:

“She’s my best friend, she always supports me so much. Whenever I’m scared or worried about driving I call her and she’s manages to help me every time. There are so many things I wouldn’t have done if she wasn’t there.”

An unconventional passion

Marie has always been into cars, mainly thanks to her family who also worked in the industry while being very passionate about it:

“The way everyone in my family talked about it was so magical that I fell in love with it, together with my sister Lèa”.

For a woman tho, having such passion is not always well seen from others: often described as crazy as it’s “manly” environment; Marie started driving on track with some of the people around her not believing in her capacities only because she is a woman.

Back when she started it wasn't easy to not pay attention to the people who told her that she wasn't able to achieve anything: she told us that when she made her first mistake on track people justified it, by telling her that the fact she was driving a car was already impressive for a girl. She felt like she was carrying something bigger than her, as those comments only made her feel worse.

“I don’t make mistakes because I’m a girl: it’s because I’m a human. It’s not about being a man or a woman."

Driving a Formula 1 as a hobby

It may sound crazy, but Marie drives a Ferrari F2007; when we asked her about the feelings she gets when driving it, it took her some time to find the right words, as it’s such an unique experience every time: "It's out of this world" she told us.

The first time she drove it, in Fiorano, she was extra focused and didn’t realize what had actually happened until she came back to the pit lane: Marie was shocked and told us that it’s like that every time. From being scared at the beginning, to fully focus when cruising on track, to then feeling the happiest while entering back the pits.

“Every time that I drive it I feel that I could smile for the whole year. The sensations you get into this car are crazy and I feel like I could do anything and that nothing could stop me. It’s like a roller coaster but more special, as I can actually decide what happens.”

When talking about it, Marie's eyes light up and we could see how much she enjoys doing what she does. Driving a Formula 1 - or every other race car, as she also drives GT cars - is for sure incredible, but also has its challenges: speeding at 300km/h is everything but easy and lots of things can happen. Fear is something that Marie knows very well, as she feels it every time before jumping into the car: it's only once she leaves the pit lane that she doesn't feel it anymore.

"You can never know what will happen on track: even if I trust my mechanics, even if I'm always extremely careful and focused. I'm scared of hurting myself or the others, of damaging the car. In this sport you can never know."

GTs or F1?

The first question that comes to mind when you think of someone who gets to drive both Gt’s and F1 surely is which one do you prefer. This caught Marie between a difficult choice, the speed and history of a F1 car or the majesty of a GT car, but F1 it is.

The driving experience between the two was very different: in a GT car Marie is most of times with her coach, which doesn’t take away from how special the experience is; while with the F1 she’s alone with her thoughts, no radio, no nothing, it’s an experience all to herself, and just at the end she gets to the pits and discusses and analyses her drive. She describes them as two very different driving experiences, both very special and unique, but you know Formula 1 is always going to be Formula 1, it’s sensational and something you don’t get to experience often.

Driving on the roads and on track can be quite different though, in fact Marie enjoys driving on track much more than on the roads; this because you have to respect street signals, there’s a lot of people and you’re never safe enough, while on track you can either be by yourself or share the track with few other drivers, who won’t bother you much, making the experience much safer.

"I race against myself, and that's enough for me"

When we met Marie in Imola we were fascinated with what she does, so we didn't hesitate on asking her why doesn't she race professionally: right now she's not interested in doing so and she told us that we were actually the first ones asking her about it. "I never dared to think I was good enough to do it" Marie told us.

Being a racing driver demands a lot of dedication and strength and if Marie had the chance to race she still would prefer to stick to her everyday job and keep driving on track when she likes to and, most importantly, when she has time. Also, as we previously talked about, driving on track is stressful and Marie is unsure of how she would deal with so many cars on track.

Still, she likes to know her telemetry and her timings to write them down and beat them the next time she'll drive on that particular circuit: improvements make her proud of herself and that's enough for her.

Still a fan of motorsport

Surely someone who drives this kind of cars must be a motorsport fan or spectator, and Marie is one of them. Since young age watching the F1 races on Tv with her dad and sister has always been something they could share and talk about, plus being from Belgium and having such an iconic GP as the Spa Francorchamps one has always been culturally significant as people from all over the world but especially from Belgium would go to see it. She tries to watch as many GP’s as she can, she always tries to reschedule her commitments in order to watch them; only recently she started following the WEC series which she really enjoys, but if she can’t keep up with them she usually reads online about it to keep up to date.

Her favourite drivers? This might come as a surprise but she doesn’t really have a favourite one, she wants all Ferrari drivers to win and she thinks all drivers competing in the series are great, but if she had to choose Vettel and Hamilton it is, because they use their fame to speak up on social and political matters affecting the world we live in, and she really admires this from them.

Well what can we say? Marie is such an inspiring person, her unusual passion, her working ethic, her dedication in what she does and in the love she clearly shows for her family wh0m introduced her to this world, we would like to thank her and her sister Lea as well for the chat we had, and we wish them great things for their futures whether it’s on track or outside of it.

Talking with Marie was so special for us, as we got to explore this side of motorsport through her eyes, and we wish her the best for the future.

Interview by RaceDiary, article written by Alice Cecchi and Cristina Mazzotti

Photos sent by Marie Sertang, via ig and RaceDiary

Versione in Italiano