Rodrigo de Oliveira Santos

About Rodrigo de Oliveira Santos

IndyCar Performance Engineer with great enthusiasm for Vehicle Dynamics and a strong career in motorsport- Two-Time IndyCar Champion (2024, 2025) and 2025 Indy 500 Winner as a Vehicle Dynamics Simulation Engineer- Leading and management skills acquired during a term working in the automotive industry as a Lead Vehicle Dynamics Engineer- Strong experience in Driver-in-the-Loop simulators for both automotive and motorsport applications- Strong testing and validation experience acquired working in IndyCar, Lotus Cup Europe and Porsche GT3 Cup Brazil- Simulation and data analysis skills in automotive and motorsport applications, developed through working as a simulation engineer in Chip Ganassi Racing, Applus+ IDIADA and Performance Solutions S.R.O- Teamwork and communication skills developed during several experiences in motorsport and automotive industries- Diligent, with a can-do attitude and ability to work under extreme pressure.

Experience

1. Indycar Performance Engineer

   Chip Ganassi Racing

   Mar 2024 — Present · Indianápolis, IN, US

   Suggest setup changes and rebalancing requirements with them based on simulation results database. Contributions made helped the 06 car to achieve a top-10 finish and the fastest lap in the 2025 Indy 500.• Support data analysis during race events, test and DiL simulator sessions. Develop and implement innovative data analysis strategies to help improve vehicle handling.• Monitoring of timing and scoring information through HH Timing software to identify key track sectors for performance improvement• In-session analysis of critical KPIs to monitor Race Car performance• Monitor hybrid usage and performance, ensuring driver is following proper deploy/regen strategy, and making sure auto-regen maps are optimal• Providing summary of Race Car metrics compared to teammates, supporting Race Engineer decision-making regarding the setup of the car• Perform in-session systems check to make sure sensors in the car are working properly, including proper zeroing and calibration• Manage data overlays for driver during/post session, suggesting points of improvement based on timing and scoring data, and distance plots• Monitor in-session tire wear metrics, suggesting appropriate onboard tools correction by the driver to manage the tires

Education

• Coventry University

  Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) Motorsport Engineering

  2014 — 2015

• Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

  BEng Mechanical Engineering

  2008 — 2018

Skills

• Vehicle Dynamics
• Data Acquisition
• Race Car Simulation
• Motorsport Engineering
• Matlab
• Msc Adams/View
• Msc Adams/Car
• Vehicle Aerodynamics
• Solidworks
• Pi Toolbox
• Motec I2 Pro
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Ansys Cfx
• Automotive
• Cfd
• Autocad
• Manufacturing
• Aerodynamics
• Microsoft Excel
• Automotive Engineering
• Powerpoint
• Testing
• Powertrain
• Cad
• Microsoft Word
• Computer-Aided Design (Cad)
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd)