7x Champion Lewis Hamilton Offers A Young Black Mechanic The ‘Dream Chance’ In His Team

Samriddhi Jaiswal | 19/01/2023
7x Champion Lewis Hamilton Offers A Young Black Mechanic The 'Dream Chance' In His Team

A young black engineering student Jacob Alexander got offered an opportunity of a lifetime when he got picked by Lewis Hamilton to join his Extreme E team.

Alexander was one of the candidates for the ‘Racing For All’ scholarship with Extreme E, which was created based on the recommendations of the Hamilton Commission. The Mercedes star also set up this commission to help increase diversity in motorsport.

The 7-time world champion personally reviewed Alexander’s application before the final interview went ahead with the chief mechanic. Alexander has been placed in the Mercedes star’s Extreme E team X44. While the series regulations only allow five mechanics per car, the RFA initiative allows a sixth member from an underrepresented background.

The young mechanic is the first candidate to enjoy the perks of the scholarship, although he wasn’t even aware that he was under consideration.

Also Read: Michael Schumacher Once Disrespected Indy 500 Drivers And Explained Why He Never Wanted To Race There

Alexander had no idea about the scholarship

Alexander himself had not applied for the scholarship. His father had gone through an Instagram advertisement and had submitted the application without even telling his son.

Alexander was amazed when he got the email from X44 Vida Carbon for an interview. He further elaborated that he had applied for multiple jobs in motorsport earlier, but he never got any response. So finally, getting a positive response was very exciting for him.

Lewis Hamilton is deeply involved in the team

Stephanie Travers, the associate sporting director of the X44 team, revealed Hamilton takes a huge interest in the workings of the team.

The RFA scholarship was created based on the findings of the Hamilton Commission, set up by the F1 star in 2020. Therefore, the Mercedes star is not only offering guidance to the Extreme E team, but he also wants to ensure that X44 is the first one to take a candidate.

After reviewing Alexander’s application, he wrote to Jacob to ensure that the young mechanic felt welcomed in the team.

Also Read: George Russell Highlights Importance Of Spending A Season With Lewis Hamilton As Teammate

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Extreme E Lewis Hamilton Mercedes X44

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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