Rachel Brookes was born on 21 August 1974 in Whiteley, Hampshire, England, and grew up as the only daughter with two brothers deeply involved in racing — one in Polo Super Coupe and the other in Radical Racing. Her father held endurance racing records, making the sounds of engines and race circuits early constants in her life. Her parents’ names have not been publicly disclosed.

Brookes’ first professional gig was as a freelance presenter for the radio station KISS FM in the late 1990s, having secured the job by winning a DJ competition organised by the station. From 2001 until 2005, she worked for stations like Rock FM and Power FM, co-hosting the breakfast show known as “Rick and Rachel” on Power FM, which became the leading commercial radio breakfast show in the TSA for five years.

After Power FM, Rachel joined talkSPORT TV as a presenter. She presented cricket news and became a sports newsreader on the station’s number one show, The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast. Rachel worked for talkSPORT until 2011, when she left the company to join Sky Sports News

Rachel’s transition to TV occurred in 2009 with live IPL coverage for Setanta and freelancing for Premier League TV. She served as Bloomberg’s 2010 World Cup correspondent in South Africa and eventually returned to Sky Sports News HQ, where she broke barriers delivering live boundary cricket updates as the channel’s first female presenter in the role. Rachel officially started working on Formula 1 in 2013. In 2016, Sky Sports News launched a dedicated channel called Sky Sports F1, and Brookes moved across to become a presenter, commentator, and reporter.

As of 2025, Rachel is entering her 12th year with Sky Sports F1, regularly appearing at up to 19 of a record 23 races per season. She keeps her personal life private and no confirmed relationship or family details are publicly available.