Summer work placement/internship

[Skyphox]

Not sure if I'm posting in the right section of this forum but I'll lay down some foundations.

I am currently just about to finish my first year on an automotive engineering course (accredited by IMechE) at Coventry uni and I have been looking around for summer internships since I am going to be free from mid May to the end of September.
Unfortunately I have been having no real luck finding anything, I have looked at all the automotive companies offering internships and they all seem focused on taking in second year students rather than first years.
I would ideally like to just get some experience in an engineering workplace to make me stand out a little as a candidate for work placements FOR next year. I would love to get some hands on experience in a racing team for example but none really seem to offer internships or work placements save F1 teams who look for people with experience so you can see how I am in a bit of a loop here.
I have considered writing to some racing teams in my local area asking if they need any help in terms of volunteering, is this the right direction to take?

Any help or input would be very much appreciated.

I'l leave my email here as an external point of contact:
[e-mail]