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By Bryan Lim
Not only does she get to globetrot to the Formula One races in fab cities, she is assured a place right in the thick of the action and hobnobs with famous drivers like Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
And she gets to do all of that as part of her job.
Armed with a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oxford, Dr Cara Tredget is Shell's technology manager for the Ferrari F1 racing team.
Her job, she said, involves "developing world-class fuel and lubricant products that help the Ferrari team maintain a competitive advantage on the race track".
Think of her as a fuel bartender or a mixologist.
The 31-year-old native of Hitchin, a town in southern UK, basically uses chemistry to create the high-tech fuel that burns better and gives as much power as possible.
She has the fuel transported to the track, ensures no one messes with it, then analyses the performance of the cars running on her cocktail of compounds.
Her role is crucial to the F1 team: Dr Tredget is constantly checking the fuel which can get contaminated, like from grease off a mechanic's gloves.
She explained that the fuel must be pre-approved by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) before the race.
She said: "We check that the fuel is 'legal' and it matches the sample that has been pre-approved by the FIA.
"If there are any differences, we let Ferrari know that they need to flush out their system. Otherwise they can be penalised."
Come race time, she's either in the Shell Trackside Laboratory or at the back of the Ferrari garage, watching track footage.
She dons a pair of Ferrari headphones, so she can hear the communication between the drivers and their race engineers.
The information gathered from the races also helps her company come up with new products everyday consumers can get access to, she explains.
How did a PhD holder like her end up in the world's most glamourous motor race?
Dr Tredget mulls over the question briefly and said: "I always knew I didn't want to be an academic in the university.
"I wanted to work in science, where there's a link between what you are doing and the world."
She joined Shell in 2007 where she worked in aviation technology, assessing aviation fuels and lubricants, before she managed a switch to the F1 team.
"I was in the right place at the right time and so when the job became available I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to join the team," she confessed.
 
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