Mercedes F1 team’s official title sponsor, Petronas, has extended the deadline for its global Trackside Fluid Engineer search to October 5, 2019 – the earlier deadline for the same was September 25, 2019. Launched in July this year, the global search will provide one successful candidate the chance to work for the reigning F1 champions, providing trackside support in the 2020 F1 season.
The candidate selected will then travel with the Mercedes F1 team to all the races, and be responsible for monitoring and conducting analysis on Petronas’ fuel, lubricants and other functional fluids at race weekends and test events to ensure full compliance with FIA regulations and optimum on-track performance. While speaking at the launch of the 2019 hunt earlier this year, Giuseppe D'Arrigo, managing director and chief executive officer, Petronas Lubricants International, said: "We test our world-class talent and technology to provide products and services that meet the needs of our partners in motorsports, OEMs and ultimately, our everyday consumers. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a qualified candidate to become part of a team, developing cutting-edge fluid solutions for future championship wins."
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Petronas has run this initiative. The company had conducted a similar hunt last year, which saw Stephanie Travers beat over 7,000 other applicants globally to be appointed as a Petronas Trackside Fluid Engineer, and she has been working at Mercedes alongside Nasri Shafie for the 2019 F1 season. Travers had to pass multiple stages of tests and interviews before she was selected for the role. “I’ve always been a racing fan. It’s been in my blood since I was young,” Travers said while speaking to Autocar India at the recent Singapore GP. “It was always a dream of mine to get into this sport, so it was a dream come true.”
Travers will now be serving as a mentor to whoever is selected at the end of the 2019 search. Those interested in applying can register here.