Ariane Frank Meulenbelt: “Seeing how women have grown in motorsport is the biggest highlight in my career”

Ariane Frank Meulenbelt is the CEO of A. Ostermann GmbH and Ostermann Formula 1 KFT, the companies responsible for organising the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix. In this role, she oversees everything that goes into delivering a race weekend at the Hungaroring- operations, logistics, commercial partnerships, and coordination with Formula 1 and local stakeholders.

Her path to this position has been shaped by years of working across motorsport operations and international events. Rather than coming from a purely corporate background, Ariane built her experience on the ground, understanding how complex racing weekends are actually run. That mix of hands-on knowledge and strategic leadership defines her approach today, making her one of the quiet but essential figures behind one of Formula 1’s most consistently well-executed races.

“I started watching and getting myself into Formula 1 alongside my father back in 1994,” Ariane tells Females in Motorsport. 

“I finished my studies and tried a few things on my own, but my life has always found its way back to Formula 1. Today, I run our company, Ostermann, which wears many different hats.”

From her teenage years to now, she has spent much of her life immersed in motorsport. Over the years, she’s taken on multiple roles and responsibilities, working closely with Formula 1 promoters across the calendar and navigating the many layers that sit behind a Grand Prix weekend. Each phase of that journey has brought its own challenges, shaping the wide-ranging skill set she brings to the sport today.

“My biggest highlight since my early days is genuinely how much women have grown in motorsport, not only as drivers, but also across various management positions,” she says. 

She recalls a moment she says she’ll never forget, from her time as a member of the FIA Formula 1 Commission.

“Once in a meeting, there was a room full of maybe 30 or 35 people, and in this room, there were two women, Claire Williams and me. Looking around at a table dominated by men, I questioned myself: ‘Where do I sit? Maybe I should wait for everyone to sit and see what chairs are available.’

“Then I thought, ‘I don’t care.’ I sat where I wanted to sit. That was my first step in building confidence as a woman.”

From then to hundreds of women working in Formula 1 today, the entire ecosystem has come a long way.

Behind the scenes, Ariane’s work is split between data-driven strategy and rigid operational execution. 

“The technical side, we take a lot of data to work out what we’re doing in the future,” she says.  

“Where our fans are from, who our fans are, and then tailoring the Grand Prix to their requirements. The rest of what we do is very practical operations, traffic management, literally running a race, and the FIA requirements. 

“These things are written in big, thick documents with lots of handbooks, and you need to stick to them quite rigidly.”

Contrary to popular belief, organising a grand prix is not a one-week job. 

“People often ask me, what do you do for 360 days a year when the Grand Prix week is one week?” she says. 

“But the following year starts before the Grand Prix of that year is finished. Sunday’s the race. Monday morning, we want to go online with ticket sales. That means preparing everything months in advance.” 

After the race, the team conducts a full review of what worked and what didn’t, before breaking into smaller teams to plan improvements for the following year. 

Race week, however, brings a very different rhythm. 

“My phone is the most important gadget to me because it contains a lot of important numbers,” she says.

“It’s about finding the right people and making the right connections to fix unexpected problems. Once the cars go on track, on FP1 on Friday is the first relief to me, and then everything follows.

“In the end, the reward comes when everything aligns. Moments like that make me fall in love with the sport and my job even more. Formula 1 is in such a wonderful place. It’s an exciting time to be in the sport. Every year is a new challenge; it’s never boring.

“If I’m not promoting the Hungarian Grand Prix, maybe I’d work for Formula 1 and see the other side. Or maybe one day I’ll pass this on to the next generation.”

Deciding to sit where she wanted in a room full of men to running one of Formula 1’s most respected races, Ariane Frank Meulenbelt has faced every challenge head-on. Today, seeing more women step into all corners of the sport, her journey feels like one step in a bigger story of growth, persistence, and opening doors for those who come next.