Draft:Stephanie Travers

Stephanie Travers is a Zimbabwean born British chemical engineer, motorsports engineer, trackside fluid engineer who predominantly works as a fluid engineer in Formula 1. In 2020, she achieved the unique distinction of becoming the first Black woman to stand on a Formula 1 podium.

Biography

Travers was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. She along with her family members migrated to the United Kingdom in 2004. Her grandfather Pat Travers served as former chairman of Arcadia United, a professional association football club based in Harare, Zimbabwe. She developed passion in the field of engineering as well as in motorsports from an early age by watching Formula 1 races in television. Her father was an engineer. It was during her father and grandfather’s engineering workshop sessions in Zimbabwe, she got the exposure and hands-on experience in the field of engineering.

Career

Travers was an average student and she obtained three Cs for her A-Level examinations. She pursued her Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical engineering with Industrial Studies from the University of Bradford and completed her Master of science in Advanced Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London. One of her friends had shown her about the advertisement, regarding a global talent hunt for a trackside fluid engineer, officially posted by Mercedes-AMG Petronas to which Travers initially hesitated to apply. It was only after constant reminders and follow-ups from both her father and friend, that she applied for the role of trackside fluid engineer, with a potential opportunity to join the Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Interestingly, she faced fierce competition for the role of trackside fluid engineer with approximately 7000 applications had been submitted by interested individuals. She was shortlisted as one of the five applicants for the position of trackside fluid engineer and was officially finalized as Mercedes-AMG Petronas' trackside fluid engineer. She eventually joined the Mercedes-AMG Petronas in 2019, prior to the commencement of the 2019 Formula One World Championship, where she collaborated with prominent Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

She stood on the podium along with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton during the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix, where both received the constructors' trophy for Mercedes. It was the Mercedes team members who convinced Travers to stand on the Formula 1 podium and they nominated her to collect the constructors trophy on their behalf following Hamilton's victory in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. She eventually became the first black woman in the history of Formula 1 to stand on the winner's podium. She had spent three seasons with the Mercedes, where she was tasked with the prime job role of analyzing engine oils, gearbox oil/transmission fluids, fuel and lubricants in real-time to help optimize race performances and also to detect precautionary measures to avoid risks related to combustion. In 2023, she was appointed as the Deputy Team Principal of Team X44, a team which competes in Extreme E. In February 2026, she joined hands with Aramco as its senior trackside fluid manager and Aramco had been in a contract with Aston Martin in Formula One as its principal partner in F1.