Extreme H Ambassador Alum Accelerates Into Engineering Career
London, 11 February 2026: To mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated globally on 11 February, Extreme H kicks off its series in revisiting the journeys of its STEM Ambassadors and Racing for All candidates, to learn about where their careers have taken them since their time at the races.
Extreme H is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of motorsport talent from all backgrounds, and these initiatives provide aspiring professionals with the high-level exposure and hands-on experience needed to launch successful careers across the industry.
To kick off the series, we sat down with Santhiya Chandrakumar, who joined the Extreme E events in 2024, and returned in 2025 to launch the inaugural FIA Extreme H World Cup in Qiddiya City.
When did your interest in STEM subjects begin?
During a trip to rural Sri Lanka to visit my grandparents, we experienced continued power blackouts, and I wondered why they didn’t have access to solar panel or battery systems we had so readily available in the UK. I learnt that much of the technology at the time was either not developed enough to suit such climates, or was financially out of reach. It was then I knew that I wanted to explore mechanical engineering as a career, to be a part of the solution for these communities.
What were your main roles as an Extreme E & Extreme H STEM Ambassador?
A major part of the role was educating guests, from young students to VIP’s by taking them on tours of the race paddock. This involved explaining all the technology inside both the Odyssey 21 and Pioneer 25 race cars, introducing the engineering teams and showing how we powered our race sites with hydrogen fuel cell technologies. I was studying an integrated Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at the time, so it really helped me bridge my engineering background with my keen interest in motorsports.
You witnessed the transition from Extreme E to Extreme H, having returned as an ambassador for the recent FIA Extreme H World Cup. How was that experience?
To be an ambassador at the FIA Extreme H World Cup was incredibly unique. I learnt so much from spending time with each of the technical partners who helped build the brand new hydrogen-powered Pioneer 25 race car and hearing the driver’s feedback first-hand, to then tell the story back to visiting guests. Being so closely involved at the core of a series which is leading the way with cutting-edge clean energy technologies has been so fulfilling, as it has tied back closely to why I decided to become an engineer in the first place.
What has been your highlight of being a STEM ambassador?
Having the accessibility to such amazing role models in our female drivers who continue to break boundaries has been fantastic, as I've been able to strike up so many conversations in our paddock, which has always stuck with me. Meeting Carlos Sainz Senior, and then creating content with him was also such a highlight. For such a big name in motorsport to be so accessible and generous with his time, is a testament to how closely-knit the paddock is.
Where are you now in your career, and what are your ambitions ahead?
I am now building my engineering expertise in a new environment, where I now work at Transport for London (TfL), who manage the city’s public transport network. I have rotated between engineering on the tracks, fixing trains, human workload and ergonomics, and business strategy engineering, so I've developed my expertise across so many sectors.
All of my experience has combined really well, as Extreme H and TfL have a common thread of a deeply embedded innovation culture to drive net-zero transportation solutions. TfL even operates a hydrogen-powered bus fleet, so it has been really great to see the principles I witnessed at Extreme H, being applied in a different light. I’m really looking forward to continuing my career down this route, to continue solving problems in one of the world’s most complex transport networks.
What has been the most valuable part of your experience with Extreme H?
I’ve greatly developed my communication skills from welcoming our hospitality guests from all over the world and then hosting them on paddock tours. It’s also been so valuable spending time with our amazing technical partners who are all so generous in taking the time to explain and share their work, and seeing it firsthand has really helped my understanding of clean energy technologies which are going to change the world.
The paddock has been so eager to demonstrate how hydrogen technology can be successfully applied in such extreme and high-performance environments, and I really look forward to seeing these learnings be applied beyond the races to drive forward the clean energy transition.