To say Carol Armstrong is a well travelled official is an understatement.
 
Born and raised in Ireland, Armstrong is now a proud Australian citizen who has been all around the world volunteering at Formula 1 events.
 
Last year alone, she attended five rounds of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with visits to the inaugural Miami Grand Prix and the picturesque Azerbaijan Grand Prix featuring in her busy schedule.
 
And having been an official in Australia for a decade now, this weekend’s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix will be the 39th Grand Prix she has volunteered at.
 
Living up to the Irish Traveller reputation, unsurprisingly the charismatic Armstrong has made friends at many of these events, which results in her convincing them to come and volunteer here in Australia.
 
These international friendships have also helped build an unofficial exchange program for Armstrong, allowing her to travel to other countries and experience a variety of Grand Prix events.
 
Despite having been to so many Grands Prix, in her eyes, it’s her newly adopted home which she considers as one the best of the lot.
 
“Australia’s pretty much up there with the best I have to say,” Armstrong said.
 
“Last year I was lucky enough to do Azerbaijan and that was fabulous. They take care of all their officials just like we do here, so it was good to see.
 
“Honestly, it was great to see because a lot of Aussies came over with me last year.
 
“Over the years, I have been able to get a lot of internationals to come over and do motorsport and I have been able to get to a lot of different countries where we help people train up.
 
“We get to share our experiences, which in turn helps these people learn how to be proper officials. So that’s great. In fact, I have quite a few people coming this year as well, which is exciting.”
 
Whilst it may come as a bit of surprise as to how much Armstrong has travelled for motorsport has come from, there is a much simpler equation as she hails from a family entrenched in the motorsport community.
 
Born to a father and mother who formed a formidable rally duo in Ireland, Armstrong grew up racing karts with her biggest competitor being her brother.
 
As she got older, the level at which she competed in improved until 20 years ago she made some big decisions that would have a life changing impact.
 
“I used to race karts at semi-professional level back in Ireland but eventually decided to five up racing and become an official instead,” Armstrong explained.
 
“When I gave up karting, I still had an awful lot of love for motorsport and I still wanted to be involved but not behind the wheel.
 
“My dad suggested I become an official and I loved it, so I haven’t looked back. Since then, I have recruited quite a few people and just showed them the way.
 
“I also made the decision to move to Australia 20-years-ago and have been involved with Motorsport Australia as soon as I could.
 
“I have no regrets over coming here. Obviously, the weather is better and there is the Formula 1 event, but it has also opened up a lot of doors for me to train as a scrutineer, as well gain a lot of opportunities to go between different divisions and teams, which is really good.
 
“For me, this is like the nearest you can get to the action without actually being in the action and working with the same team for the past decade – It’s like my home away from home.”

Find out how you can become an official at motorsport.org.au/officials.