Shau Mafuna is a former Worr racer. He found his way to Worr Motorsport as a learner at St. Stathians, a private school in the heart of Johannesburg. He took part in karting competitions under the tutelage of Wesleigh Orr. He later studied Mechanical engineering at Wits University and joined Oxford Brookes University for his Masters in Motorsport Engineering. Now, Shau is an F1 Design Engineer at Mercedes AMG Petronas and a part time Data and Systems Engineer at 2 Seas Motorsport.

We hear a lot about drivers in F1, the owners and the team principals. With the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr Gayton Mackenzie issuing a public promise to do everything in his power to bring the Travelling Circus to the country we wanted to shed some light on how 1 South African got himself involved with the 8-time F1 constructors championship winners, Mercedes-Benz AMG Petronas.

Shau Mafuna isn’t a driver, a reserve, deputy to Toto Wolff nor the water boy to Lewis Hamilton or George Russell. He is the design engineer, part of the large technical team of experts behind the development of each season’s F1 car. Shau is well versed in all disciplines within the motorsport engineering field, he works within the team that creates the powertrains used by Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin. With the season drawing to a close a Mercedes engine is once again poised to hoist the constructor’s trophy. As one of the South Africans that made it to F1, Shau was at a loss for words at his appointment saying “This is a dream that a certain few know how hard we have pushed to reach this position!” as quoted on News24.

Shau found his passion for Motorsport through karting and is now in the belly of the world’s most prestigious motorsport competition, in one of the most prestigious teams. Start your journey in karting today to find out if it is your passion and maybe you’ll find yourself in the office, pit or seat of an F1 car.

Join the Worr Motorsport Intro Course today to find out if Motorsport is for you.