Jazeman Jaafar On The Race Beyond The Finish Line

For Jazeman Jaafar, motorsport began almost by chance. At the age of six, he accompanied his father to a karting track in Shah Alam for an afternoon outing where he discovered his lifelong pursuit. Jaafar built his life around racing early, progressing from local karting to winning the 2007 Formula BMW Asia Championship. A year later, Petronas backing took him to the UK for Formula 3. An intensive education in professional motorsport followed: by 2012, he joined Mercedes’s development programme, placing the young Malaysian in the orbit of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg. For a boy who had grown up drawing inspiration from Schumacher, it was a remarkable progression from spectator to participant.

Today, Jaafar’s relationship with motorsport extends well beyond the driver’s seat. After competing in Formula 3, GT, and endurance racing—including the 24 Hours of Le Mans—he has turned his attention to the wider ecosystem sustaining the sport, taking on development and governance roles within the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile alongside driving. His ambitions also encompass education through his Technology Transfer Apprenticeship Programme, which focuses on a part of racing that is often less visible: the technicians and engineers whose expertise is as integral to racing as the drivers, offering apprenticeships to refine their skills. Having already guided 95 talents, Jaafar is building a pathway into an industry that often seems impossibly restricted. His international motorsport journey gives him a clear sense of what the next generation needs.

What is it like to drive at your level and intensity?

In layman’s terms, it’s like doing a workout, running at a great pace, but you have 30 kilos of force going through your body at every corner. When you do a grand prix or when you do endurance racing, you do that for almost two hours in the car, so your body gets battered. You’re driving at 300km/h, and what people don’t realise is the amount of strategic input that comes in the race. There is fuel saving, tyre wear, and there’s also management of the hybrid battery nowadays. It’s like a game of chess while you’re working out. There’s no sport like it, where you have to work as an entire team in order to win the race. It’s never easy; there’s a lot of preparation that comes into it.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from racing?

They come from two people I’ve worked with throughout my career, one being my late father. He was jovial yet stern about results. There were times in my early karting years when I might be feeling too lazy to go for training. He told me that the day he had to wake me up for training was the day I had to stop racing. So that made me reflect on how much sacrifice we put into my career, and I was very young at the time.

The second encounter was with Michael Schumacher. I was training with him in the same facility in Brackley when he was at Mercedes. He was teaching me a few things, and there was one thing he said to me: no matter how strong you are, or how fit you are, or how good you are, there’s always someone out there trying to beat you. If you’re lifting 40 kilos, there’s someone trying to lift 41 kilos. It changed my perception of how much push and grit you need to have at that level.

Growing up, were you a Formula One fan?

I was, (especially of) the Schumacher era and Senna’s racing, so it was kind of natural for me. When I was younger, I collected Hot Wheels and Tamiya cars, so the passion for four wheels has always been there, and it was always in the pipeline that I was destined to do this.

Who was your biggest Formula One inspiration?

It was always Senna. His faith and belief in himself were unlike any athlete I’ve ever seen. He knew how good he was, and he knew what it took to be that good. He was one in a million, and I was very inspired by that.

What is your favourite track to race at?

One of my personal favourites is Valencia. They don’t race there anymore, but it’s so technical, high speed, super fast, good weather, good food. The fans are also incredible there. But the one that has the most sentimental value is Monaco. I’ve never set foot in Monaco without getting a podium there. I’ve raced there three times, and when you have Negaraku playing in Monaco, it’s such an incredible moment. But the intensity that comes with that event is also like none other because all eyes are on you.

How would you compare other tracks to Sepang?

Sepang is technical in its own way. The heat is always a huge factor, because of how strenuous it is on the drivers. Tyre wear is also a big consideration. It’s a unique circuit where you have a combination of both high-speed and low-speed areas, so to master both is what drivers love about Sepang. That’s what makes Sepang so special.

If you had to give one piece of important racing advice to younger drivers, what would you say the most important thing to know is?

Never stop chasing the dream. You are your own brand. You’ve got to go out there and chase it. Nobody in motorsport will hand it to you on a silver platter.

What is your favourite activity on a day off?

I don’t get much time to do it, but I love wakeboarding. Being on the lake and being in the water is a nice break. I’ve also been playing a lot of padel, and it’s a great outlet.