South African engineer to work with seven-time F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton

By: CAR magazine

South African me­chan­i­cal en­gi­neer, Shau Ma­funa has joined up with the Mer­cedes-AMG high per­for­mance pow­er­trains as a Product Engineer on the Work Experience Academy programme. Now, he’ll get the opportunity to work alongside the seven-time Formula One (F1) champion, Lewis Hamilton.

According to Mafuna, to be a part of a leading team in F1 and at the top level of motorsport has always been one of his wildest dreams. He began his career as a karting racer and studied further to become a mechanical engineer.

"Like the main man, @lewishamilton said "-¦ Dream the impossible! This is a dream that I am still not done with though", Mafuna explains.

Although Mafuna will not directly work on the car that Hamilton will be driving this upcoming season, he is still part of the team that provides power units to the two Mercedes F1 teams.

"Words cannot describe how amazing this opportunity is for me and all those that have helped me to get to this point. In saying that, I would like to thank all those that have pushed and supported me till this date,"  Mafuna said.

 

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A post shared by Shau (@shau_m)

He says it has been a journey that started with believing he would race in Formula One someday, to studying at Oxford Brookes University, forming part of Oxford Brookes Racing, and now the start of this next chapter.

"I cannot wait to learn from some of the great minds of this sport and absorb as much as possible from the experience.  I would like to say a massive thanks to all those who’ve helped me achieve this dream-¦ It hasn’t been easy, but would it be a dream if it were?," Mafuna added.

Picture: Instagram

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